Bozeman Magazine

On Sunday, December 17th, at 7pm at the Emerson Center, The Bozeman Doc Series presents the Montana premiere of the award-winning new documentary, Spettacolo. Once upon a time, villagers in a tiny hill town in Tuscany came up with a remarkable way to confront their issues – they turned their lives into a play. Every summer, their piazza became their stage and villagers of all ages played a part – the role of themselves. Every issue the villagers have faced in their history - their near annihilation by Nazis, the womenʼs movement, the struggles of the townʼs independent farmers, the commercialization of their land - every major event has been debated and dramatized by the villagers in the center of town. Leading this process is Andrea Cresti, a painter and sculptor, who has devoted his life to helping his village tell their story. At 75, he still scales scaffolding to adjust lights and pulls the stage apart after midnight rehearsals. But with no qualified heir and a future generation more interested in Facebook than farmers, he struggles to keep their tradition and community from crumbling. “Spettacolo” tells the story of Teatro Povero di Monticchiello, interweaving episodes from its past with its modern-day process as the villagers weather a series of devastating blows to bring their latest production to life. "Spectacular. The film resonates with profound themes that relate to us all." Nonfictionfilm.com “All the world’s a stage, but in Monticchiello that truism is movingly real…so poignant and so intelligently told that it feels wrong, almost insulting, to call “Spettacolo” charming, even if the movie is often delightful.” The New York Times "Breathtaking. A powerful testament to the ability of art to make sense of the world" Moveable Fest “Lovely, heartbreaking… a profound inquiry into the state of the human animal… a great film about the search for meaning.” Hammer to Nail Doors open at 6:30pm. Tickets are available at the door or before the show at Cactus Records and Movie Lovers. Tickets are also available online at www.bozemandocseries.org, where you can also buy Season Passes and 7-film punch cards, learn more about the series, and view trailers for upcoming films. The series will continue every other Sunday through Christmas. Starting January 4th, the series will move to every other Thursday through April.