The IInd Bangalore International Film Festival (BIFFES) had an impressive array of documentary films. Italian journalist and filmmaker Gianfranco Norelli’s three documentaries ‘Taxi Dreams’, ‘City Of Dreams’ and ‘Bitter Bread’ (Pane Amaro) were part of the retrospective section. All three films are about the hopes and dreams of a better life with which people go to a new city or a country.

The films track the lives of these people as they readjust their dreams to cope with the harsh realities of immigrant lives. Refreshingly the films  showed these people as realistic and optimistic and not as victims of sour dreams. The director himself was there to present his films. He talks about the films, their relevance and the importance of recording these experiences.

Immigration is the common theme across all three films. Was that intentional?

I am an immigrant myself. I came from Rome to New York 30 years ago in search of a better life.  Also everybody talks about the ‘American Dream’ and how anyone can come here and make a life for themselves. But nobody talks about the dreams gone bad. ‘Taxi Dreams’ and ‘Bitter Bread’ talks about how difficult it is to get accustomed to the new place, new culture and make a living in America.

Why did you choose taxi drivers to tell the story in one of the films?

Being a taxi driver is the classic entry point into the American dream. It is the easiest job to get but the hardest to make a living with.  In ‘Taxi Dreams’ you will see five taxi drivers from countries like Ghana, India and Tajikistan, who came to America with the hopes of making it big. But over the years their lives have hardly changed and added to that is the pressure of assimilating the American culture and in the process becoming ‘Americans.’ The film points out the ‘cost of achieving the dreams.’ One of the men in the film says, “I have not had it good here but hopefully my children will.” So in a sense they have deferred their dreams.

Your other film ‘City Of Dreams’, talks about immigration of a different kind and you bring in the gender
aspect too.

Yes, ‘City Of Dreams’ is set in the city of Juares in Mexico near the border of Texas. Here there are over 250,000 women working in over 400 factories. And the problems the women face are quite different from the immigrants in America. Since 1993, over 300 women have been murdered here. Most of the cases have remained unsolved.

The film tries to find out what happened. What we found out was that the economic empowerment of these women has tipped the traditional social balance. Much like what’s happening in India where more and more women are finding jobs in the IT industry and call centres. The women in the film like the independence their jobs have given them. The films show how this has caused much resentment among their men and could’ve led to the murder of these women. It is not an accepted reality though.

‘Bitter Bread’ recounts the violent history of Italian immigration into America. Why now, when Italians are significant contributors of the American the society?

It is very fashionable to be Italian in America now. But there was a time when it was not. The Italians when they first came to America, they replaced the African slaves and were not considered ‘white.’ The film shows that time.

This part of the history is forgotten and today some of the prominent Italians in teh US are against immigration.

So we thought it is important to remind them of their past.

In this era of 24 hour news, do you think documentaries have a place?

24-hour news is what has triggered the need for documentary films. All you get is 90 or 180 seconds to tell a story; there’s a lack of depth in the coverage. Documentaries are in that sense filling the void left by this kind of journalism.

Is it possible for a filmmaker to be fair to both sides of a story?

Absolute objectivity is a ridiculous notion. Every individual comes in with his own experiences and they will affect what he’s trying to say. But what one can do is to take an honest approach to the issue. One should try to tell the story as humanely as possible and leave sensationalism out of it.