This is a film based on the last charcoal burners of the Lemina Valley and Grandubbione. Charcoal burning is a profession that in Northern Italy disappeared in the second half of the 20th century. This documentary describes the different elaborate phases in a charcoal kiln, transforming wood into charcoal, but also shows the intimate relationship between man and his territory. Yet, the film is not just a simplification of the production process: on the contrary, through the charcoal burners’ tales and the images of the wood, of the valley glades and of the ruined villages, we discover a ghostly world and “waste” land. A land deprived of man’s presence, but which shows the traces of his presence, his disappearance and his possible return.
Director
ANDREA FENOGLIO
Andrea Fenoglio graduated from the Saluzzo Institute of Art in 1996; he also completed an Arts degree, with a major in Filmmaking, in 2003. Since then he has worked in a range of sectors. In 2004 he started to make documentaries that focused on the relationship between humans and their environment, observing the complex web of environmental and social issues and the subsequent changes to the landscape. His films include "La vita è un lavoro" (2010); "Il viso" (2009) and "Taglio di ritorno" (2009).