Asmara

“I can remember cold, grey Sundays when the whole family could gather around the family album. Meanwhile, life in the small Swiss village went on slowly. Among the numerous holiday photos taken in Italy, our country of origin, one particularly attracted my attention in a disturbing, sinister way. The photo remained imprinted on my memory… and I grew up. With time, the photos’ mystery became clear: my father had been a soldier in the Ethiopian War in 1936. Afterwards, he lived for 15 years in Asmara (Erithrea), before returning to Italy, then emigrating to Switzerland. This long period was unknown to me. We simply never talked about it, because it was a family taboo, as indeed for all Italians. One day, I decided to make a film about these two subjects, the taboo at a personal level and the historical taboo.” (Paolo Poloni).