La tv nel pozzo
Italian Contest – Feature Film
Synopsis:
“La tv nel pozzo” recounts the Vermicino accident, a tragic event that shook Italy on 10 June 1981, leading to the death of little Alfredo Rampi, known as Alfredino. Rather than limiting itself to a chronicle of events, the documentary focuses on the media impact of the incident. Through the lens of the RAI cameras, which live broadcasted the last 18 hours of the rescue attempt, Alfredino’s case became one of the most significant in Italian media history, profoundly influencing public opinion. The symbol of this tragedy is the picture of a smiling child wearing a striped shirt. This image soon became familiar to the whole of Italy, appearing on the front pages of newspapers and on national news screens. Forty years later, Alfredino’s same innocent smile stands out on a twenty-metre high mural in Rome’s Garbatella district, reminding everyone of the event that marked an era. ‘La tv nel pozzo’ does not want to retell Alfredino’s story but rather recount those who told it, namely the media, who made Alfredo Rampi’s story their own, turning it into a pivotal point in the collective consciousness of the nation.
Director’s Notes:
The documentary mixes the language of the myriad ways in which the media portrayed the story of Vermicino, above all through television but also in literature, music and poetry, from novels and songs to TV series, graphic novels and murals on the buildings of Rome. The documentary aims to flip the perspective, and focus not on Alfredino’s story but that of the media who, like an apprentice wizard with a magic wand, told it through video cameras and the printing press before becoming overwhelmed – along with millions of viewers – by the story.