Los Angeles, 19 – 25 February 2012
San Donato Milanese (Milan), 7 February 2012 - Once again, this year Eni is to be a Special Partner of the 7th "Los Angeles Film, Fashion and Art Fest" (http://www.losangelesitalia.com/) to be held at the Chinese 6 Theatre in Hollywood from 19 to 25 February. The event aims to promote contemporary Italian and international cinema, along with selected features of the cultural, crafts and costume industries.
A remastered version of the special documentary trilogy "Africa, birth of a continent", from the Eni historical film archive, will be screened during the event. The three films, directed by Gilbert Bovay in 1968, are entitled: "The legacy of the past", "The bitter fruits of freedom" and "History of an experiment."
The first part of the trilogy examines the political situation, in the 1960s, in a number of large African countries following independence. From Nigeria to Ghana, from Zambia to Kenya, the film charts Africa's attempt to regain its voice and build its own path to democracy. However, the desire for independence and sincere aspiration for freedom, soon end up restoring those oligarchic powers which are economically tied to the "legacy of the past." A prime example of this is given in the detailed examination of the Biafran conflict between Igbo and Hausa ethnic groups.
The second episode of the investigation deals with three countries, Ghana, Guinea and Tanzania, which have chosen the socialist route, either during independence or following it. It is these countries that point the finger at the European colonial states, whose constitutional and political models they have also rejected. For Sekou Toure, President of Guinea, and Julius Nyerere, Tanzanian Head of State, the Cuban and Chinese models, respectively, are more valid. The politicians interviewed in the film explain the reasons for their decisions and their issues.
Having focused on a number of socialist experiments in the second film, the third episode examines two countries, the Ivory Coast and Senegal. In the first, the liberal regime of President Houphouet Boigny – which has enabled the country to double its per capita income and acquire an industrial structure - has triumphed. This is despite the fact that the country's economy continues to be controlled by the white population and notwithstanding the failed attempt to create an African entrepreneurial class. In Senegal, the political outlook is that which President Leopold Sedar Senghor described in an interview as African 'humanistic' socialism, able to combine independence, economic growth and individual well-being.
Eni's involvement in cinema dates back to the company's origins, when Enrico Mattei decided to establish a film office. Today, the historical archive contains over 2000 mostly unreleased films and a total of 5000 audiovisual units, produced by some of the most prestigious names in the world of cinema, such as Bernardo Bertolucci, Gillo Pontecorvo and Alessandro Blasetti.
With regard to the film and entertainment sector, Eni is also committed to restoring, cataloguing and promoting its cultural heritage, ensuring its preservation over time and its dissemination to the public. An excellent example of this commitment is the restoration of the documentary "La via del petrolio", produced at the request of Eni in 1967 by Bernardo Bertolucci, when he was in his early twenties.
Eni supports numerous other film initiatives, such as the African, Asian and Latin American Film Festival, which takes place every year in Milan. This is an important event for lovers of films from the southern hemisphere, and is the only festival in Italy entirely dedicated to promoting the cinema, current affairs and cultures of Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Company Contacts:
Press Office: Tel. +39.0252031875 – +39.0659822030
Website: www.eni.com
Company Profile
Eni, is an integrated energy company present in 79 countries with approximately 80,000 employees. Eni is active in oil and natural gas, the generation and sale of electricity, petrochemicals and engineering and construction and has strong skills and leading market positions in each of these areas worldwide. Eni is actively committed to sustainable development. Its activity is centred around people; and this value is inherent throughout the group; contributing to the development and welfare of the communities in which Eni operates, respecting the environment, investing in technological innovation, pursuing energy efficiency and mitigating the risks of climate change. Website: www.eni.com
Eni's commitment to art and culture
Eni's commitment to supporting art and culture reflects its desire to be a partner that is able to understand the expectations and needs of the communities in which it operates, giving due attention to the promotion and dissemination of the artistic heritage, and the growth and development of society.
The success of Eni's cultural projects, at their various stages of implementation, is based on its knowledge of the area, choice of local partners through an established network of relationships and identification of issues, in harmony with the interests of the community.
Eni's strategy aims to identify "exceptional" content, which allows the audience to participate in a unique and one off event, and creates exploration tools that would allow anyone to explore cultural heritage in depth. Events are free of charge and open to all age groups.
This is the backdrop to the numerous exhibitions held in Italy and abroad, as well as the partnership agreements signed by the company with prestigious museums.
The logic behind the partnership
Eni is also partnering the "Los Angeles, Italia Film, Fashion and Art Fest - Promoting Italian Excellence" to be held in Los Angeles from 19 to 25 February. The project will help promote contemporary Italian cinema both nationally and internationally,, as well as examples of its culture, including crafts, costumes and traditions.
During the event, the special film trilogy "Africa, the birth of a continent" from the Eni archive will be shown. The trilogy consists of three films, directed by Gilbert Bovay in 1968, called: "The legacy of the past", "The bitter fruits of freedom" and " The History of an experiment".
The first part of the Bovay trilogy, "The legacy of the past", examines the political situation in several large African countries after they gained independence. The film shows that from Nigeria to Ghana, from Zambia to Kenya, Africa wants to regain its voice, free itself from white Western domination and build its own path to democracy. However, the desire for independence and sincere aspiration for freedom, soon end up restoring the oligarchic powers which are economically tied to the "legacy of the past". A prime example of this is the detailed examination of the Biafran conflict between the Igbo and Hausa ethnic groups in Nigeria..
The second episode of the investigation, entitled "The bitter fruits of freedom", focuses on three countries which have chosen the socialist route, either during the act of independence or following it: Ghana, Guinea and Tanzania. The film charts the accusation made by these countries against the European colonial states whose constitutional and political models they have rejected. For Sekou Toure, President of Guinea and Julius Nyerere, Tanazanian Head of State, the Cuban and Chinese models, respectively, are more valid. The politicians interviewed in the film explain the reasons for their decisions and their issues.
Having focused on a number of socialist experiments in the second film, the third episode, entitled "History of an experiment", examines two countries, Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal. In Côte d'Ivoire the liberal regime of President Houphouet Boigny, has enabled the country to double its per capita income and acquire an industrial structure despite the fact that the country's economy continues to be controlled by the white population and that the attempt to create an African entrepreneurial class has failed. In Senegal, the political outlook is what President Leopold Sedar Senghor in an interview described as 'humanistic' socialism, able to combine independence, economic growth and individual well-being.
