Film retrospective curated by
Marco Berti and Francesca Pappalardo, Palazzo Esposizioni Roma

Promoted by
Rome the Capital City’s Cultural Affairs Department and the Azienda Speciale Palaexpo

Acknowledgments
Park Circus, Teodora Film, Nexo Studios, Samarcanda Film, Lucky Red, VIGGO

Anxiety, anger, a sense of vulnerability and powerlessness are only some of the emotions that changes in the natural environment trigger both in those who are directly impacted by their traumatic consequences and also in those who merely reflect on the issue. Coping with such extreme events as floods, drought and all the other catastrophes that threaten our physical safety is also a challenge for our mental health. Our minds are frozen in the feeling that all of this could happen at any moment, causing the irreversible transformation of the environment we live in and the way we have always known it. While, on the one hand, concern for our future triggers a medley of deep emotions, on the other, the feeling of a totally insufficient response to the problem of the environment at both the local and global levels induces a feeling of resignation and frustration that can only aggravate the situation, as well as kindling in us a sense of apathetic bewilderment and inaction.

Palazzo Esposioni Roma’s Sala Cinema has been committed for years to taking the emotional temperature of our daily lives, prompting its audiences to debate and to shed light on the feelings and the anxiety that pervade our society today. To tie in with the exhibition entitled In Praise of Diversity. A journey through Italy’s ecosystems, we have put together a retrospective of films that lead us from fear of nature’s extraneousness towards an experience based on listening and on symbiosis with nature, in the knowledge that putting a name on negative emotions is the first step towards overcoming them and seeking alternative strategies that shift the focus from human technological supremacy to a better balance and greater respect for our planet’s precious gifts.

Image courtesy of Park Circus/Universal