Donata Scalfari presents
Scalfari: A Sentimental Journey by Donata and Enrica Scalfari.
The great Italian journalist Eugenio Scalfari, founder of “L’Espresso” and “La Repubblica” seen through the eyes of his two daughters, journalist Donata and photographer Enrica. The documentary won the Premio Speciale at the Nastri d’Argento.
Introduced by Enrico Franceschini
The documentary is in Italian with English subtitles.
Eugenio Scalfari: the intellectual, the journalist, founder of L’Espresso (weekly current affairs magazine) and La Repubblica (daily newspaper), whose life has ran parallel to that of his Country, has not only been one of the most sophisticated interpreters of the shifts within the Italian society, but also the narrator of his own existence. Those who have attempted to narrate his life have usually only managed to capture his social and public persona, at the heart of the main political and economic events, much less the man, his private dimension and relationships. His daughters have done so with an original and informal documentary. Through Enrica’s (a photographer) and Donata’s (a journalist) eyes, we get to know his personality, his fights, his passion, and we also learn about the conflicts, the family dynamics, the tough choices and debates on politics and society.
The issues addressed by Enrica and Donata are the father-and-daughter relationship, the challenges, power, love, the painful decisions, and also the fear, ageing, death, the friendship with Pope Francis, while always looking at the future, which for Scalfari was personified by his 21 years old grandson Simone. Not only was Scalfari very close to Simone, he also saw in him his chance to get closer to the young and to understand them better.
A portrait of a man and a father, who had a profound ethical sense, but was at the same time cheerful and light-hearted, although not many people realised it.
Book HERE
Donata Scalfari is a journalist and documentary filmmaker. She has worked for Italian national TV news programme TG5 and has been the Paris correspondent for Mediaset untile2016. She is co-author of Italian Consulate in Paris’ book “L’Italia del Père-Lachaise, vite straordinarie degli italiani di Francia e dei francesi d’Italia “, published by Skira.
Enrico Franceschini is a journalist and writer. He has been a foreign correspondent for 40 years for the daily La Repubblica from New York, Washington, Moscow, Jerusalem and London, where he lives. Among his many books of fiction and non-fiction, the recent Bassa marea (2019), A Londra con Sherlock Holmes (2020), Ferragosto (2021), Elisabetta II, l’ultima grande regina (2022), Come girare il mondo gratis – un giornalista con la valigia (2023). In 1993 he won Premiolino, one of the oldest Italian journalistic prizes, for his reporting on the attempted coup in Russia.