Global Courant 2023-04-11 18:00:23
Video duration 08 minutes 06 seconds
Activists from Ultima Generazione tell us why they are targeting valuable works of art to highlight the effects of climate change.
“None of us want to be here, but the government is investing in our deaths!” shouts Leonardo, an Italian climate activist, as he and his teammates block a busy street in Milan during rush hour. They are all members of Ultima Generazione – or the Last Generation – an Italian campaign linked to an international network dedicated to climate action, popularly known for focusing on roads and valuable works of art.
“We have two to three years to turn things around,” added Martina, a 23-year-old activist who has been detained several times for obstructing traffic and damaging public infrastructure. The consequences of her decisions have led to her losing certain privileges and even breaking her relationship with her family. “We used to be very close, and now we hardly talk to each other (…) This is mainly because I’m part of this movement and they don’t agree with the life choices I’ve made.”
For Ultima Generazione, this form of protest qualifies as nonviolent civil disobedience, and Martina affirms that this is a basic right available to all citizens if their government fails to comply with the law, which she says is the case for Italy. “The country is essentially moving us all towards mass genocide”.
In this Close Up episode, we follow Martina as she and her team target one of Milan’s most cherished public sculptures in plain sight and alter it with washable paint. Neither the outcry of the spectators nor the immediate detention of these demonstrators at the hands of the police seems to change their mind: “We know that what we are doing is right (…) and we are absolutely prepared to accept the consequences .”
CREDITS:
Executive Producer: Tierney Bonini
Director/Producer: Ana Gonzalez
Producer: Antonia Perello
Editor: Andrea Yoko
Director of photography: Marton Kis
Assistant editor: Juan de la Serna
Sound Designer: Alex Marais
Colourist: Marton Kis
Italian transcriber: Cristina Capoccetti
Special thanks: Camera Del Non Lavoro and Leo
Editor-in-Chief: Donald Cameron
