It takes a brave man to take on the most powerful figure in Italy, but then Erik Gandini is no ordinary filmmaker. His debut feature Raja Sarajevo saw him filming in war-torn Sarajevo with just a small hi-8 camera, and his new movie Videocracy is no less controversial.
It looks at Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and his vast media empire. The colourful politician controls 90% of the television channels in Italy and he also owns the football club AC Milan, and the film looks at the consequences of a daily diet of scantily clad women being beamed into homes across the country.
Videocracy proved to be a huge hit when it was premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2009, but it has since been virtually banned by the Italian press. Some television channels even refused to broadcast a 30 second trailer, because they deemed the film too political.
How does it feel to make a film that’s been virtually banned in your own country?
I didn’t even plan for it to be released in Italy. I did this film for a Swedish audience.
I was happy when the film was taken to Italy, but I was really scared when it was banned, because we received threatening letters from lawyers. But in the end, there was a massive internet campaign for the film.
It’s scary that Italy uses such old methods to stop films. It does not work anymore. You cannot control communication as one could do during the ‘50s. It’s a very old fashioned regime. Berlusconi himself is 73 years old.
A lot of people in Britain think that Berlusconi is a bit of an idiot. They don’t see him as a threat. How do you see him?
To be honest, the film is not about him. It’s about a cultural revolution. It’s about the impact of his television channels, which has had an enormous effect on the country during the past thirty years. It’s this system of non-values that his television has spread all over the country. He is very close to the content that his TV has been broadcasting, so you cannot disconnect him from what you see. It’s much bigger than him. He’s not going to be there forever. Of all the crimes he has been involved with, this is for me is the biggest crime. It’s not even illegal to turn a country into a cultural black hole.
People associated the dumbing down of the media with the US and reality shows. How far does it go back in Italian culture?
In Italy, television has an enormous role in society. I call it the evilness of banality. As a global culture, it presents itself as harmless. We’re just having fun, but in Italy we have a clear example of how banality has become a weapon of mass deception, which is not disconnected from politics. From abroad, you look at Berlusconi as a politician, but he’s much more than that. My film starts thirty years ago, when the first commercial shows started experimenting with semi-naked girls on TV and this proved to be a big business idea.
How easy was it to persuade people to take part and comment in this film?
It was much easier than I expected. When you say the word ‘television’ in Italy people think of success. People were very open, partly because they thought it would not be released in Italy, and partly because my project was very marginal. They are very self-obsessed and used to having cameras around them. They work with huge television shows. It was a shock for them, and for me, when the film was released on a mass scale.
What was the reaction in Sweden when the film came out?
It was described as the horror movie of the year! (Laughs) People found it scary. You have to remember that Sweden is a very ethical country. This is so far from Swedish society. The conflict of interest would never be accepted in Sweden. It’s far from the visionary idea of how public service should be used. The film was in the cinema for more than 25 weeks there. People really talked a lot about it.
Do other countries have their own media mogul, who as similar to Berlusconi?
Oh yes, obviously. Many other political leaders are inspired by the power that Berlusconi has. Someone like Vladimir Putin was inspired by this level of control. President Sarkozy, as well. I am sure that people are inspired (by Berlusconi). If it works in a modern European democracy, it should work everywhere else. It’s definitely moving the focus from relevant to irrelevant things.
I would not want to ban entertainment. But public service broadcasting should be very strong in its vision. It should be used for the good of society. Even people who are very smart, it’s now acceptable to play stupid, because that’s the way it should be. It’s not a question of brainwashing people in a James Bond way. It’s more of a simple lifestyle, which dictates values which are good for the ones who become famous, but not so good for others.
Obviously, the Catholic Church is very powerful in Italy – did they just stand back and let all these semi-naked women get on television without doing anything?
They have a feeling of responsibility for morality and television culture has been a problem for them. Even the Pope sometimes says we should keep our children from looking too much at this trash. After all the scandals that happened last summer, with this 18-year-old girl and Berlusconi’s wife asking for a divorce, it became very clear for the whole country that there was a connection between the decadence of his television and his own private life.
You’ve been making films for a while, but this movie make you feel about being a filmmaker?
It’s a personal thing for me. I really feel very small very often. I really like the feeling of empowerment that making your own story has. I’m having fun doing this kind of films from a creative point of view. It’s important that films give me something back when I’m making them. JH
It looks at Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and his vast media empire. The colourful politician controls 90% of the television channels in Italy and he also owns the football club AC Milan, and the film looks at the consequences of a daily diet of scantily clad women being beamed into homes across the country.
Videocracy proved to be a huge hit when it was premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2009, but it has since been virtually banned by the Italian press. Some television channels even refused to broadcast a 30 second trailer, because they deemed the film too political.
How does it feel to make a film that’s been virtually banned in your own country?
I didn’t even plan for it to be released in Italy. I did this film for a Swedish audience.
I was happy when the film was taken to Italy, but I was really scared when it was banned, because we received threatening letters from lawyers. But in the end, there was a massive internet campaign for the film.
It’s scary that Italy uses such old methods to stop films. It does not work anymore. You cannot control communication as one could do during the ‘50s. It’s a very old fashioned regime. Berlusconi himself is 73 years old.
A lot of people in Britain think that Berlusconi is a bit of an idiot. They don’t see him as a threat. How do you see him?
To be honest, the film is not about him. It’s about a cultural revolution. It’s about the impact of his television channels, which has had an enormous effect on the country during the past thirty years. It’s this system of non-values that his television has spread all over the country. He is very close to the content that his TV has been broadcasting, so you cannot disconnect him from what you see. It’s much bigger than him. He’s not going to be there forever. Of all the crimes he has been involved with, this is for me is the biggest crime. It’s not even illegal to turn a country into a cultural black hole.
People associated the dumbing down of the media with the US and reality shows. How far does it go back in Italian culture?
In Italy, television has an enormous role in society. I call it the evilness of banality. As a global culture, it presents itself as harmless. We’re just having fun, but in Italy we have a clear example of how banality has become a weapon of mass deception, which is not disconnected from politics. From abroad, you look at Berlusconi as a politician, but he’s much more than that. My film starts thirty years ago, when the first commercial shows started experimenting with semi-naked girls on TV and this proved to be a big business idea.
How easy was it to persuade people to take part and comment in this film?
It was much easier than I expected. When you say the word ‘television’ in Italy people think of success. People were very open, partly because they thought it would not be released in Italy, and partly because my project was very marginal. They are very self-obsessed and used to having cameras around them. They work with huge television shows. It was a shock for them, and for me, when the film was released on a mass scale.
What was the reaction in Sweden when the film came out?
It was described as the horror movie of the year! (Laughs) People found it scary. You have to remember that Sweden is a very ethical country. This is so far from Swedish society. The conflict of interest would never be accepted in Sweden. It’s far from the visionary idea of how public service should be used. The film was in the cinema for more than 25 weeks there. People really talked a lot about it.
Do other countries have their own media mogul, who as similar to Berlusconi?
Oh yes, obviously. Many other political leaders are inspired by the power that Berlusconi has. Someone like Vladimir Putin was inspired by this level of control. President Sarkozy, as well. I am sure that people are inspired (by Berlusconi). If it works in a modern European democracy, it should work everywhere else. It’s definitely moving the focus from relevant to irrelevant things.
I would not want to ban entertainment. But public service broadcasting should be very strong in its vision. It should be used for the good of society. Even people who are very smart, it’s now acceptable to play stupid, because that’s the way it should be. It’s not a question of brainwashing people in a James Bond way. It’s more of a simple lifestyle, which dictates values which are good for the ones who become famous, but not so good for others.
Obviously, the Catholic Church is very powerful in Italy – did they just stand back and let all these semi-naked women get on television without doing anything?
They have a feeling of responsibility for morality and television culture has been a problem for them. Even the Pope sometimes says we should keep our children from looking too much at this trash. After all the scandals that happened last summer, with this 18-year-old girl and Berlusconi’s wife asking for a divorce, it became very clear for the whole country that there was a connection between the decadence of his television and his own private life.
You’ve been making films for a while, but this movie make you feel about being a filmmaker?
It’s a personal thing for me. I really feel very small very often. I really like the feeling of empowerment that making your own story has. I’m having fun doing this kind of films from a creative point of view. It’s important that films give me something back when I’m making them. JH
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