A portrait of the community of Erto, in the Dolomites, which 60 years ago suffered a huge human disaster, due to external ambition and avidity, and still fights for dignity and recognition. Over the past 10 years, the director has filmed the mayor fighting together with his people for not being forgotten by the national institutions. Through the voice of Nature, we see the efforts of the community,  which at a certain point breaks up due to a project that aims at creating a work of art on the dam, at the origin of the disaster: while for the mayor and the art curator it is a way to rise up the village and look forward, for some it would be another step to make people forget the tragedy.

Erto - The Moon Beneath the Water" initiated from the author's desire to explore the fine line between the preservation of memory and the need for revive. The documentary deals with this topic through the intertwining of two narrative levels: the main level will follow the events of the present, with the whole process from the proposal to the realization of the artwork on the dam, and the protests of a part of the community; the secondary level is the oneiric one, with the visualization of the collective unconscious of the characters involved in the story. The tone of the film will be delicate, sometimes funny, sometimes dramatic, and will oscillate between the reality of a village whose memory is challenged by its mayor, and the staging of the collective unconscious that is awakened in some inhabitants precisely by that provocative proposal.

Director
Alessandro Negrini
Story
Alessandro Negrini, Elisa Nocente
Screenplay
Alessandro Negrini, Fabrizio Bozzetti
Director of photography
Odd-Geir Sather
Film Editor
Beppe Leonetti
Set Design
Barbara Kapelj
Costume Design
Barbara Kapelj
Original Music
Andrea Gattico
Sound
Havir Gergolet (Fonico di presa diretta); Francesco Morosini (Montaggio del suono); Emanuele Amodeo - A_LAB studio (Sound Mix); Marco Cecotto, Alberto Fasulo, Antonio Petris (Fonici aggiunti);
Altri credits

Enrico Qualizza (Macchinista); Fabio Pappalettera (Dronista); Paolo Rapalino - Zenit Arti Audiovisive (Colorist).

Cast and characters

Maria Pia di Meo (narratore), Janez Škof, Cristiano Cappa, Giovanna Corona, Mauro Corona, Giota (Luigia) De Marta, Gianluca D’Incà Levis, Beppino Filippin “Giambon”, Italo Filippin, Luciano Pezzi, Guido Sain, Giordana Zagmester.

Production Director
Marta Zaccaron
Organizzatore generale
Camilla Tomba
Executive production
Incipit Film
Producer
Marta Zaccaron, Fabiana Balsamo, Igor Pediček, Beppe Leonetti
Production
Casablanca Film, RTV Slovenia, Incandenza Film
con il sostegno di Film Commission Torino Piemonte - Piemonte Doc Film Fund - produzione giugno 2021 e Fondo Audiovisivo Friuli Venezia Giulia - FVG Film Commission. Sviluppato con Media - Norwegian Film Institute.
Assistente di produzione
Marta Montina
Last update: 30 September 2023