Giulio Figurelli

"truth 24/25 times per second"

Awarded the Giorgio Mangiamele Prize for excellence in documentary filmmaking, 2001, Venice Film Festival.

Giulio Figurelli is one of Europe's most renowned documentary filmmakers, forging an unmistakable style over 40 years of work in different parts of the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas.

Starting with the seminal political film (R)evolution in 1970, which startled Italian cinemagoers with its honesty, clarity and brutality, Figurelli has made over 80 films, many of them documentaries, including several feature-length ones such as Khmer? okay! , bye bye ... (1980), Lo spettacolo del mondo / Nel mondo dello spettacolo (The Spectacle of the World / In the World of the Spectacle, 1986) and Iniziative rimarchevoli (Serious Undertakings, 1998).

His themes revolve around the corruption of human life by contemporary political grandstanding, in particular the way party machinations impact on the spiritual well-being of the population. HIs style is radical, an example of Manny Farber's "termite" cinema ... Figurelli's camera goes where no other camera goes, as he burrows into, prods and slices open the hypocricies and injustices of the contemporary political landscape.

Since 2006, he has been based in Greece, in an intentional self-exile from his beloved Italy. He is currently working on a major project about the Greek socio-economic crisis, in relation/contrast to deep-rooted cultural Greek pecularities and perspectives.

Figurelli can often be seen on the front-line in Greek demonstrations, weaving in and out of protestors and riot police, unafraid of anything that may befall him personally. In this sense, his video documentation is far more valuable than any footage recorded by TV cameramen.