Suddenly, Last Winter

Suddenly, Last Winter

(Improvvisamente l'inverno scorso), L. Ragazzi, G. Hofer / I, 2007
original version / Czech and English subtitles, 80 min

Luca and Gustav have been living together for eight years and would like to get married. However, Catholic Italy, where they live, has still not accepted a law on registered partnerships that would guarantee them certain basic rights as a couple. They decide, therefore, to shoot a documentary on the way politicians juggle with a 'problematic' bill on the matter, and on how Italian society regards the legalisation of gay and lesbian cohabitation. This playful picture, which has won many awards at festivals around the world, illustrates the issue on two basic levels. The first, more predictable, concerns how institutions like the church and state bodies - designed for "majority" society - come to terms with difference. The second concerns how individuals engage in the process of advancing their own rights and what is the border beyond which they will not or cannot cross? Who decides on our future, on according to what criteria?