Girlfriend in a Coma

If Italy is to offer a better tomorrow, Italians must wake up to the harsh realities of today and yesterday. That’s the message of the controversial documentary by the Anglo-Italian team of film-maker Annalisa Piras, former London correspondent of L'Espresso and La7, and ex-editor of The Economist Bill Emmott. Girlfriend in a Coma, heralded as a ground-breaking new kind of creative documentary, blends hard facts with poetry, animation and scores of Italian testimonies. Initially rebuffed by mainstream media, Girlfriend in a Coma has caught fire thanks to Italians abroad, to web journalism and to social media, where its innovative qualities and tough message have created a huge following. After the response on the web Piras and Emmott are now turning their film into an evolving, participatory campaign, in the unashamed belief that films and journalism may after all change the world.

The documentary Girlfriend in a Coma will be shown after the panel discussion.