Since graduating from LFS in 2004 with CHLOE TRAVELS TIME, which went on to win the Arcipelago Film Festival, Gigi Roccati has been awarded Best War Documentary on Italian Television by Rai and the Ministry of Defence for his on work on THE ROAD TO KABUL as well as earning several international awards and institutional development funds.
After working on several other documentaries and historical programs, a proud Roccati will have his debut feature film, BABYLON SISTERS (2016, 85 mins), screened at the 11th Roma Cinema Festival. The Italian premiere will be held on Sunday 23rd October at the Cinema Admiral with both members of the cast and crew in attendance. The film itself is based on a book entitled “Amiche per la pelle” by Laila Wadia and is a migrant tale of sisterhood and music, celebrating unconventional friendships and the power of diversity. While the men of migrant families react in anger to a landlord‘s threat of eviction, the women strive to cooperate and save the destiny of their families through tears, laughter and misunderstandings. In this un-settling situation, they come up with the idea of a dance school, thanks to a friendly social worker.
In an official statement, Roccati said "Traveling for documentaries from China to Afghanistan, from Nigeria to Lebanon, I have always felt [at] home, encountering the dignity and hospitality of the humble...This is why to convey this migrant tale of sisterhood I used a language that moves from realism to pop, to give back with a musical soul the drama and joys of a colorful humanity coexisting in precarious harmony.”
Click here to watch a trailer of BABYLON SISTERS, an Italian and Croatian co-production between Tico Films and Antitalent, supported by the European MEDIA program and the Italian Ministry of Culture.
ABOUT THE FONDAZIONE CINEMA PER ROMA
Established in February 2007, the Fondazione Cinema per Roma is designed to promote cinema at both local and international levels, especially among the younger audience. It develops film education projects in schools and educational institutions at every level. The Fonzaione Cinema per Roma also has several projects that take place throughout the year, such as the Festa del Cinema di Roma, CityFest and Roma Fiction Fest, which pay attention to involving local organisations in the capital and Lazio region.
Written by Ben Corbett
Photo Credit Michele Paradisi