The Creation of Meaning La creazione di significato

Toward the end of WWII in Tuscany’s Apuan Alps, German occupying forces massacre hundreds of civilians before retreating. There, among the reminders of the Resistance, Pacifico was born and raised. He is a shepherd whose only contact with the outside world is a radio which broadcasts news from a country that is increasingly foreign to him. But his isolation can’t protect him from the economic crisis; he is forced to sell his land and a German who lives in Pisa is a potential buyer.

Un unconventional documentary, whose open form – including both anthropological study of Italian post­war society and a Borgesian labyrinth – openly ‘challenges’ the viewer, inviting his participation.

"My film tells a simple story that is itself both a collection and an echo of other stories. Viewers are invited to make up their own narrative thread and in doing so partake in an ephemeral creation of meaning together with the film’s characters and the filmmaker. The film’s title reminds us that only when the past, present and future meet can the all­too­human device we presumptuously call ‘meaning’ be created." (Simone Rapisarda Casanova)

Simone Rapisarda Casanova
Born in Italy, lives and works in Montréal, Canada. A former computer scientist who holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in film production from the York University in Toronto. He came into international prominence with his feature debut, The Strawberry Tree. His next feature, The Creation of Meaning, earned him the prize for best upcoming director at the Festival of Locarno.