DEVILS OF THE FIELDS
Documentary, Italy, 2019, 13'30"

Toni Carta (painter, 1928-2014) spent his childhood and adolescence growing up in a peasant family. His fascination with the rhythms and colors of rural life inspired him to depict its images and symbols through his main vocation: painting.

From the age of 16, he worked as a laborer at the Officine Grandi Riparazioni, a train factory at the heart of Ferrovieri, a district established for factory workers in Vicenza.

In the film, the suspended characters depicted in his paintings guide us on a mythological journey that narrates the sunset of rural culture. The quiet countryside village Contra' Riva Alta becomes I Ferrovieri, a bustling working-class suburb, son of the capitalist industrial society.

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The film was realized in the framework of the artistic residency Working Title Film Festival @Ferrovieri, which included various activities focusing on the Ferrovieri quarter in Vicenza and its historical connections to the world of work.

Produced by Marina Resta and Giulio Todescan for LIES – Laboratorio dell’inchiesta economica e sociale.