Essay on Definition of Concepts

Question 1: Three categories of documentaries by Marco Bertozzi

The documentary–portrait, historical and social analysis documentary and documentary-diary are the three major categories of current Italian documentaries identified by Marco Bertozzi. According to him, a documentary-portrait entails the meeting of the most typical characters such as a hero and their supporting characters such as a guardian or a protagonist. Historical and social analysis, on the other hand, utilizes stories as examples while documentary diary focuses on the accounts of individuals’ lives as illustrated by themselves such as a personal understanding of the world around them or a trip. (Cantini)

Question 2: Five categories of authors by Gianni Canova

In the last decade, the Italian Cinemas have experienced a rapid increase of documentaries. As a result, Gianni Canova, a scholar identified five different categories of documentary authors. The types include the neo-autarchici, neo-dark, post-fordisti, neo-glocal and post-melo. Neo-autarchici

are the authors who use minimal costs to create their movies or just do not work with a budget as they tend to exploit all the opportunities digital technology offers. (Cantini)

Neo-dark defines directors who make noir or horror films and gothic stories but are not similar to the great works of Dario Argento while the post-fordisti focus on global economy themes and more so Italy’s financial struggles. Neo-glocal, as the name suggests, are directors that focus on globalization specifically its effects and post-melo filmmakers concentrate on love and unachievable wishes that look into human relationships. (Cantini)

Question 3: Definition of concepts

Alina Marazzi’s films center on women. Her preference raises questions about gender, gender roles and female identity and also mirror issues that most women can relate. More so, she uses the strategy of partire da se meaning beginning from oneself and affidamento meaning entrustment in her statements. The designs make her films examinable using an Italian feminist perspective. (Cantini)

Chiara Zamboni defines la pratica del partire da se as the “necessity to reconstruct one’s past and understand the feelings and contradictions we deal with ordinarily.” Mirna Cicioni, on the other hand, defines affidamento as the “recognition of and reliance on the differences in competence between women.” The first one emphasizes self-awareness and seeking to improve self while the other demonstrates how women can benefit from utilizing each other’s resources. (Cantini)

Question 4: Summary Cristina Gamberi’s definition of Docu-diary

Moreover, Cristina Gamberi identifies the style of docu-diary in Mirazzi’s films. Un’ora sola ti vorrei and Vogliamo anche le Rose films contain the technique. Docu-diary according to Gamberi involves the exploitation of found footage, home videos, archival material of different genres and sources that lead to the creation of a kaleidoscopic product. The product stems from numerous editing that distinguishes both attractions and distractions to create new meaning and narration of the filmed fragments. The idea behind the documentary is similar to fragmented diary writing as each clip taken is unified to develop a narrative of the film. (Cantini)

Based on Gamberi’s explanation of docu-diary, Cecchini feels that Marazzi’s entire production utilizes the docu-diary style. According to her, not only is the style found in different fragments of a documentary but also different documentaries contain a section of a diary that continues in another film. In simplicity, one visual piece in one documentary gets completed in another visual piece section within another movie. Thus each documentary contains steps that lead to the building, development and personal awareness of herself: Mirazzi and the female world which women can easily relate. (Cantini)

Works Cited

Cantini, Maristella. Italian Women Filmmakers and the Gendered Screen. US: Palgrave Macmillan , 2013.