On the occasion of the commemoration of the Holocaust Remembrance Day 2025, on Monday 27 January at 7.30 pm, the Instituto Italiano de Cultura in Madrid will screen the documentary La strada di Levi (Italy, 2006, 92 minutes, directed by Davide Ferrario, with script by Davide Ferrario and Marco Belpoliti). Free admission with prior reservation, until the capacity is full.
After the liberation of the Auschwitz death camp on 27 January 1945, Primo Levi embarked on a long journey across Europe to return home to Italy. The director Davide Ferrario and the writer and screenwriter Marco Belpoliti walk the six thousand kilometers that separated Levi from Turin, comparing the Europe described in his pages with the contemporary one. In the film, Ferrario together with Belpoliti (author of the subject and editor of Primo Levi’s works) travel from Auschwitz to Turin to follow the itinerary narrated by the writer in La tregua. The short circuit between past and present produces a film of great visual and emotional strength. The film features the voice of Umberto Orsini and the participation of Mario Rigoni-Stern.
Davide Ferrario started working in cinema as a critic and essayist during his studies. At the same time he was a distributor for the cooperative «Laboratorio 80». He also worked as an agent for some American directors such as Jim Jarmusch and John Sayles. In 1982 he published a monograph on Rainer Werner Fassbinder (Il Castoro). In 1987 he was director for the first time, with the short film «Non date da mangiare agli animali». In 1989, his first feature film «La fine della notte» was presented. In 1997, Ferrario directed «Tutti giù per terra», which became a success both in Italy and at international festivals. In 1999, «Guardami» premiered at the Venice Film Festival. Ferrario then creates his production company «Rossofuoco», whose first work, «After Midnight», is presented at the 2004 Berlin Festival. In addition to films, Ferrario has always made documentaries, including «Lontano da Roma» (1992), «American Supermarket» (1994), «Loro» (1997). In the second half of the 90s he made a trilogy on the Resistance in Italy. Other works are «Sul quarantacinquesimo parallelo» (1997), «Linea di confine» (2000) and «Mondonuovo» (2003). In 2006 he produces «La strada di Levi». In recent years, Ferrario has shot a trilogy on Italian history. In 2015, the first edition of «L’accademia Carrara – il museo riscoperto» is presented and in 2024 «Italo Calvino nelle città», in collaboration with Marco Belpoliti. His first novel, «Dissolvenza al nero» (Longanesi, 1994) is a noir centered on the figure of Orson Welles. The second novel, «Sangue mio» (Feltrinelli, 2010) won the Bergamo Prize.
To attend the event, a booking request must be sent to: alessandra.picone@esteri.it, indicating the name and surname of the persons for whom the booking is made, a contact telephone number and in the subject «Projection La strada di Levi 27/01».
