Shooting the Mafia
Synopsis
Sicilian Letizia Battaglia began a lifelong battle with the Mafia when she first dared to point her camera at a brutally slain victim. A woman whose passions led her to ditch traditional family life and become a photojournalist, she found herself on the front lines during one of the bloodiest chapters in Italy’s recent history. She fearlessly and artfully captured everyday Sicilian life—from weddings and funerals to the grisly murders of ordinary citizens—to tell the narrative of the community she loved forced into silence by the Cosa Nostra. SHOOTING THE MAFIA weaves together Battaglia’s striking black-and-white photographs, rare archival footage, classic Italian films, and the now 84-year-old’s own memories, to paint a portrait of a remarkable woman whose bravery and defiance helped expose the Mafia’s brutal crimes.
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The Filmmakers
Kim Longinotto Director
Kim Longinotto is a multi-award-winning documentary filmmaker, well known for making films about female outsiders and rebels. Among her 20 films, she has followed a teenager struggling to become a wrestling star in Gaea Girls (2000), looked at runaway girls in Iran in Runaway (2001), challenged the tradition of female genital mutilation in Kenya in The Day I Will Never Forget (2002), introduced Cameroon female judges in Sisters in Law (2005) and brave South African child advocates in Rough Aunties (2008), shown women standing up to rapists in India in Pink Saris (2010), and told the story of an Indian Muslim woman who smuggled poetry out to the world while locked up by her family in Salma (2013). Longinotto’s most recent film, Dreamcatcher (2015), looks at the life and work of an ex-prostitute who rescues Chicago girls from the street.
Niamh Fagan Producer
Irish producer Niamh Fagan started out working in feature film cutting rooms in Hollywood, London and Ireland. She learned the craft of storytelling and filmmaking from the likes of Jim Clarke, Johnny Jymson, and Gerry Hambling while working on films with directors as diverse as Neil Jordan, Jim Sheridan, Michael Caton-Jones, and Anjelica Huston. From being an accomplished editor, Fagan gravitated towards producing more than a decade ago, creating award-winning TV dramas for Ireland's national broadcasters. Shooting the Mafia is Niamh's first feature documentary for cinema. She was driven to make the film following a chance meeting in a park in the small Sicilian town of Corleone, which lead her to discover Letizia Battaglia's extraordinary work in the local Anti-Mafia Museum. Fagan, and her production company Lunar Pictures, operate from Westport on Ireland's wild Atlantic coast.
Festivals & Awards
Sundance Film Festival
2019
Official Selection
Berlin International Film Festival
2019
Official Selection
Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival
2019
Official Selection
BFI London Film Festival
2019
Official Selection
Virgin Media Diff Dublin International Film Festival
2019
Official Selection
Reviews
“Incredibly compelling … By the end of Longinotto’s inspiring film, you’ll understand Letizia’s former lovers who just couldn’t stay away: it’s all too easy to fall in love with her spirit.”
“Compelling and moving ... Longinotto’s unerring eye for a great subject is underlined by SHOOTING THE MAFIA.”
“A fascinating look at the Mafia's vice-like grip on Sicily through the lens of photojournalist Letizia Battaglia.”
“SHOOTING THE MAFIA shows that one's bravery—even if they're only doing their job—can make a difference.”