Antonio Martino

Email: info@antoniomartino.net
URL: www.antoniomartino.net


Antonio Martino, young indipendent filmmaker, lives and works in Bologna. After graduating from the DAMS in 2004 and having collaborated with NGO (ANPAS Emilia Romagna, Gruppo YODA) and other volunteer associations, he shoots, thanks to the “revolution” of the new digital technology, “Fatma Aba-ad. Come ho imparato ad amare i Saharawi”, made in the Sahara desert in a Saharawi refugees camp. He collaborates with POLIVISIONI, group of independent filmmakers which in 2003, have to face the problem of censorship in Italy when shooting the documentary “Siamo Fatti cosí” with the participation of Freak Antoni, singer of the Skiantos Rock Band, as main actor. From 2004 onward, the enquiry of the reality becomes his main objective, taking him to difficult places and subjects. His documentaries are transformed in a conscious eye and his images become enquiry. In 2005, he arrives to the Chernobyl’ s nuclear reactor and shoots “Noi siamo l’aria non la terra”, showing the current conditions of life and the consequences suffered by the population living in the area, 18 years after the catastrophe. The documentary is selected in many national and international festivals. During the winter of 2006, he shoots “Blu Panorama” in the surroundings of the CPA/CPT of Isola di Capo Rizzuto, Crotone, Italy. The film shows the escape of the illegal immigrants from the camps where they were provisionally allocated. Immediately after, in order to understand the root causes of the series of criminal acts perpetrated by young Rumanians in Italy, he decides to analyze the conditions of life of children living in a society trying to get over of the horror of the Ceausescu regime. With only a small handy-cam and almost “zero” budget, he shoots “Gara de Nord_copii pe strada”, living with some Bucharest’s street children during one month. In this way, he opens a window to the terrible reality of these children, who live in the underground canals of the city during the winter and in the street during the summer, victims of pedophilia (frequently perpetrated by foreign tourists), drug abuse and the bad treatment of their parents The film received several awards, among them the prestigious Ilaria Alpi 2007. The film has been brodcasted by the Rai 3 and Rai news 24, Italian television channels. In February 2007 he shoots “Pancevo_mrtav grad”, a reportage filmed in Europe’s most contaminated city: Pancevo, in Serbia, near to Belgrade. The video talks about the consequences of the bombing of former Yugoslavia’s biggest industrial complex by the NATO forces during the 1999 war. The heavy bombings that caused one of the most terrible ecological catastrophes during the last century, were supported and authorized by Al Gore, recently awarded with Peace Nobel Prize 2007. “Pancevo_mrtav grad” received the Special Mention Legambiente at Cinemambiente International Festival Torino 2007, Best documentary award at Corto Imola film festival, Imola 2007 and Best documentary Award at Visioni Italiane film festival, Bologna 2007. “Noi siamo l’aria non la terra” 2005, “Gara de Nord_copii pe strada” 2006, “Pancevo_mrtav grad” 2007 are part of the East’s Trilogy Project , which analyze the relation between man and environment/ambient. Antonio Martino has also collaborated with several international networks such as ARD and 3SAT German Televisions, , SG film proction, New York , and he currently works for RAI Italian Television. He also collaborates with Bologna National Cineteque, the Alberto Grifi Italian Association, Home Movies Italian Association, Pistoletto Art Foundation, Mercenaro film production and Torino Polytechnic Institute.
Moreover he held seminars and workshop at Belgrade Anthropology University Faculty, at Alma Mater Bologna University and in many Italian high schools.
In September 2007 he was officially honoured by the Italian Republic President, Giorgio Napolitano, for the “high cultural and social valiance” of his works.