LOS ANGELES - Wall of Dolls. Los Angeles International Film Culture Festival. Against femicide. University of California, Los Angeles on April 16th, 2017. "Wall of Dolls against Femicide" is a documentary about the birth and history of a permanent installation in Milan (Italy), designed by the artist Jo Squillo, to enforce her campaign to stop violence against women and to promote a cultural change.
The "Wall" was built with dolls created by 50 fashion designers (among them: Alberta Ferretti, Roberto Cavalli, Salvatore Ferragamo, Missoni and more...), 20 celebrities, 30 non-profit organizations and ordinary people.
PRODUCTION NOTES. The documentary was filmed over the past 3 years, to document the different phases of the creation of a permanent installation in the heart of Milan : the ''Wall of Dolls against Femicide - il Muro delle Bambole" Via De Amicis 2.
"Wall of Dolls against
Femicide" is a project that includes statements by celebrities as fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, actress Maria Grazia Cucinotta, Italian politicians and non profit organization leaders.
It shows stories and first hand testimonies by women who survived terrible brutality and murder attacks by their loved ones such as: Lucia Annibali, Valentina Pitzalis and Laura Roveri.
In the movie, the author Jo Squillo decided to avoid shocking images, in order to make the documentary accessible to everyone, and also because in many cases crude images could create a paradoxical emulation.
Data about violence on women are scary: over the past year only in Italy, a woman was killed every 3 days by her husband, boyfriend or lover. Women are beaten and raped often in their own home, but only very few report it to the police.
The documentary employs many different languages which interact to communicate one crucial message: violence against women will end only if both men and women, together, will one day promote a cultural change.
The Wall of Dolls created in Milan is a symbol: a small tale of a great project, with a delicate narrative of very high emotional impact.
