Rostom is a night shelter for
homeless people located on the outskirts of a big Italian city. In the dark of the night, the faces of the people who stay there for just one night and the faces of those who have made the place their home are illuminated by the glow of cigarettes and their voices can be heard. Men and women with difficult pasts are exiled to a present life of perpetual waiting. A lost galaxy in which both the past and the future seem out of reach.
Director's notes
For years I have worked as both a director and a social worker and for the last five years I have worked at
Rostom in Bologna. I’ve had the opportunity to get to know hundreds of people who have stayed in the shelter and to share intimate details of their lives. The shelter can be a rough and difficult place, the guests are mostly lonely and marginalized people. I find it striking that behind the
fragility of these men and women, behind their solitude there is a hidden
depth: a sense of rebellion, something futile and often destructive, but at the same time, when seen from up close, as in my case, able to reveal the true essence of things, able to transmit something moving and vital.
The film is narrated by
David, a homeless English man who has spent the previous seven years travelling. He arrives at the Rostom shelter exhausted but nurturing the desire of getting back on his feet, and eager to tell his story. Using a tape recorder he keeps a
diary of his impressions, reflections on life, his dreams, and his encounters with the other guests in the shelter.
At the BIFF,
Stories of the Half-Light is in
competition in the section "Documentary".
trailer - official site.