Lord of the Ants

Based on Italy’s late 60s true events, Italian poet, playwright, and director Aldo Braibanti is prosecuted and sentenced to prison for the love he shares with his barely-of-age pupil and friend, Ettore. Amidst a chorus of voices of accusers, supporters, and a largely hypocritical public, a single committed journalist takes on the task of piecing together the truth, between secrecy and desire, facing suspicion and censorship in the process. In the words of the director, this is “[a] film about violence and the obtuseness of prejudice. About love subjected to conformism and hypocrisy. A cross-section of Italian provincial life in the pivotal sixties, when economic wellbeing did not grow at the same pace as awareness about things. As emotional openness. The family is a closed space where intergenerational disagreements remain heated and conflictual... The film aims to instill the courage to rebel.”