Prisons, more bad news of people committing suicide, but also the “glimmer” of a film festival dedicated to mental health in prisons

ROMA – At the same time, terrible news and brief, sporadic “glimmers” of light arrive from prisons, but they are all the result of fortunate encounters between willing people and parts of institutions, along the same path of change. Initiatives which, however, leave a feeling of exceptionality, within an episodic, casual dimension, without ever allowing the certainty of an idea to mature, of a political project on the part of the State to make the prison system more humane and respectful of principles, enshrined in the Constitution, of recovery and social rehabilitation of prisoners.

So let’s start with the bad news. In the first three months of 2024 there were 28 suicides in the cells of Italian prisons. This data, translated into statistical terms, tells us that in prison the number of those who decide to take their own lives is 20 times higher than that of the general population. A phenomenon as alarming as it is – evidently – considered “physiological”. And in any case not at all at the center of the interest of public authorities and politics in general. Yet, the trend over the last thirty years has seen a triple in the number of people deciding to end it behind bars. This trend is often given a simplistic interpretation. Often the extreme gestures of the inmates who hang themselves are interpreted “only” as those of mentally ill people, which also end up altering the delicate balance between the inmates. In this regard, the data in the periodic reports of National Guarantor They offer very interesting reflections.

LO SPIRAGLIO FILMFESTIVAL

It is the film festival – under the artistic direction of Franco Montini – dedicated to the theme of mental health. This fourteenth edition will be held in Rome from 11 to 14 April at the MAXXI, National Museum of 21st Century Arts, with free admission. This morning in a room of the Regina Coeli prison there was the presentation of some of the short films that will animate the exhibition. We cite the two most interesting ones in our opinion: “Game independence. Luke’s story” by Benedetto Alessandro Sanfilippo, and “Kvara – a story of love and football” by Raffaele Iardino and Mario Leombruno. The presentation took place in the presence of a group of detained people, the prison management and the operators of the Mental Health District of the XIII Municipality, which for territorial reasons has responsibility for the prisoners in the prison in via della Lungara.

Mental health in prison. The initiative has an inevitable reference to the centenary of the birth of Franco Basaglia. Among the meetings announced is the one with Vittorio Lingiardi, essayist, psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, full professor of Dynamic Psychology at “La Sapienza” in Rome. Another event will be the delivery of the Lo Spiraglio Award, this year awarded to Matteo Garrone. Among the authors also Micaela Ramazzotti and Francesco Munzi.

The “Il Pensiero Scientifico” award. Still on the same theme, the selection committee awarded a new prize, established by Il Pensiero Scientifico Editore named after Luciano De Feo. Before founding the publishing house in 1946 De Feo worked for several years in the world of cinema: he was director ofNational LIGHT Institute and, subsequently, of theInternational Institute of Educational Cinema ICE; in 1930 he was among the founders of the Venice International Film Festival. The award went to the film Saved from fish. Stories from the women’s section of Rebibbiashort film directed by Stefano Corso.

Less and less taboo. The Spiraglio Filmfestival of mental health is increasingly part of the growing public and media interest in mental health issues, which are less and less taboo and increasingly represented also in the artistic field. This year – in fact – also marks the centenary of the birth of Franco Basaglia, whose law of May 1978 sanctioned the closure of mental asylums, reforming the system of treatment for mental distress and marking a turning point in the world of assistance to psychiatric patients. A true revolution from below which has since placed the person at the center and not the disease, having dismantled the oppressive rules that governed the lives of patients.

The double Jury. All themes and instances that resonate in the spirit of the feature films and short films presented in competition at the festival and which will be viewed and judged by a double jury, made up of cinema experts and personalities from the scientific world and a popular jury that will award the Spiraglio Public Award, in its second edition. .

The nine feature films in competition. They range across major themes and as always address the themes of the festival using varied languages, styles and genres. Between these:

Thin Lives – Thin Livesby Maite Carpio: adolescents and anorexia in the story of three families and their treatment path at the Bambino Gesù Pediatric Hospital in Rome.

Happiness – Micaela Ramazzotti as director will be present at the festival to present Happiness, the story of a dysfunctional family, made up of problematic parents, incapable of giving their children hopes of freedom.

On the Adamant – But also On the Adamant – Where the impossible becomes possible by Nicolas Philibert, Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival in 2023, which tells of a one-of-a-kind day center, a floating building built on the Seine, in the heart of Paris, which welcomes adults suffering from mental disorders.

Anna – So, Annadirected by Marco Amenta, the story of a beautiful and wild girl who manages a farm in an uncontaminated corner of Sardinia and clashes with progress and bureaucracy.

Krypton – Kryptondirected by Francesco Munzi, who will be present at the festival and which investigates the suspended lives of six boys, between twenty and thirty years old, voluntarily hospitalized in two psychiatric communities on the outskirts of Rome, who struggle with personality disorders and states of alteration.

Snow will cover all things – Among the short films, a couple’s relationship is at the center of Snow will cover all things, by Daniele Babbo, played by Barbara Ronchi.

Black Seed – The multi-award winner arrives from Iran Black Seed di Amirhoman Khosravani.

Wings – From Greece, the dramatic Wings di Fivos Imellos,

Game independence – Game independence. Luke’s story by Benedetto Alessandro Sanfilippo addresses the mechanisms of the gaming addict, looking for the causes of the discomfort that lead to abuse.