Shooting the Mafia opens Friday

This is a modified version of my review which originally ran during the Fantasia Festival this past July. For those that don't know Fantasia is a genre fest specializing in horror science fiction and way out action films from around the world. It rarely runs films that aren't genre related... except this time they did... With SHOOTING THE MAFIA opening Friday I'm reposting my review with some slight modifications.

When I ask “what is SHOOTING THE MAFIA doing at Fantasia?” I don’t mean it as a slap. It is more a question of what is a film that belongs at festivals such as New York, Toronto or DOC NYC doing at a genre festival? I’ll be hard pressed to know but I really don’t care because it put the film on my radar and yours as well.

The film is a portrait of photographer Letizia Battaglia who over the last several decades has chronicled life in and around her town in Italy and whose photos became a means of chronicling the death and destruction that the Mafia was doing to all levels of society. A fighter for social justice she became a recognizable presence at various protests with her bright red hair.

Transcending being just a film about a photographer and her work, SHOOTING THE MAFIA is in reality a history of Italy during the life and career of Letizia Battaglia. Through her photographs and her memories we are walked through history for the last three or four decades. Its an eye opening journey that makes this a truly great film.

If you are in the mood for something that might possibly be in the mix for the Oscar give the film a try.

SHOOTING THE MAFIA opens Friday.