Fiat Hamlet

Alternative title

Fiat Hamlet, A

Synopsis

Documentary about the Fiat car company and its operations in Turin. The film uses Hamlet as a mirror for scrutinising Turin’s working-class past viewed through Fiat’s failing fortunes. In its industrial heyday, Turin was the auto worker capital of Europe, but declining sales led to factory closures and massive layoffs. City officials are keen to refashion another image, but Ceste uses the ghost’s imperative in Hamlet "Remember me" to call attention to the wilful suppression of its proletariat past. Interviews with sociologists, set within the mangled remains of factories, are crosscut with writer Beppe Rosso and a staged reading of Hamlet using Fiat workers as actors. Shakespeare’s words act as a springboard for relevant discussions of labour history and responsibility.

Language

Italian (Standard)

Country

Italy

Medium

Film

Technical information

Colour / Sound

Year of release

2003

Availability

No archive copy or distributor known (6/2013)

Subjects

Social Studies

Keywords

labour (employment); Shakespeare, William (1564-1616); working classes; FIAT; Turin

Credits

Director

Armando Ceste

Cinematographer

Adonella Marena Ceste

Writer

Beppe Rosso Ceste

Production Company

Name

AC/Cinema & Video

Name

Archivio Audiovisuale del Movimento Operaio