A State Film

April 1939. Fascist Italy occupies Albania. Thousands of Italian workers, settlers and technicians are transferred to the country. November 1944, Albania is liberated. The new Communist government closes the borders and places dozens of conditions on Italy for the repatriation of its citizens. In 1945 27,000 Italian veterans and civilians were still held in Albania. Among them there is a cameraman, Alfredo C. An operator of the Fascist propaganda effort, he has been traveling around Albania with his movie camera for five years. Before that, for almost two decades, he had immortalised the great machine of the regime. Now, by a twist of fate, being the only cameraman around, Alfredo has been asked to work on behalf of Communist propaganda. Shut up in his storeroom, surrounded by thousands of reels of film, Alfredo watches what he has shot again on an old Moviola. It is his film that we are watching. And perhaps, not his alone.

Based on extensive research and abundant archival footage, this documentary covers the history of Albania in the 20th century, with a special focus on the troubled relationship with Italy, its neighbor across the Adriatic Sea.

The Istituto Luce turned ninety in 2014, its decades-long history intertwined with that of Italy itself, through cinema and that unique treasure trove of images known to all as the Luce Archives. To celebrate its anniversary, some of the most acclaimed rising filmmakers in Italy were invited to make a small film, with each director selecting ten minutes of footage from the archives, out of the thousands of hours of footage to be found there. The result is an album full of different narratives.

As part of the centenary of the Great War celebrations, this film focuses on a crucial moment of the conflict: the intervention of the United States in Europe.

In the early days of March 1991, a number of ships laden with people made their appearance on Italy's Adriatic shores, marking what would later be known as the 'Albanian Exodus'. Who were the people on the ships? Where were they fleeing from? And where are they today. This is the story of a journey, the story of the ships and of the people who fled on them.