—Woes of the world are left behind as life unfolds on Mondello Beach, Italy—
In “Happy Winter,” small huts are built annually on Mondello Beach, Italy, where over a thousand beachgoers reside during the summer. This retreat allows them a break from “normal” life with the chance to escape personal woes and celebrate the Ferragosto in August.
A harmonious society is created on the beach, turning a blind eye to the current economic climate and resembling life during Sicily’s better times.
Directed by Giovanni Totaro, “Happy Winter” has its national broadcast debut on POV.
Part of a summer tradition that has continued to thrive since the 1960s, Mondello Beach draws crowds of people who now look to enjoy a simple life.
Through creative and vibrant footage, Totaro captures the energy of Mondello Beach, its huts with colorful tops and clusters of beach umbrellas near rolling waves.
The beachgoers too, are bright and jubilant — they play cards, cook and share food together, sing and dance in unison.
The community on Mondello Beach is a respite from realities of the outside world, where Southern Italy’s economy remains sluggish. It’s a happy, viable lifestyle — just for the summer.
In the empty huts that line the shore, Mondello Beach’s seasonal residents carefully furnish and decorate their temporary homes for the summer ahead.
Within these small and limited spaces, habitants transform the huts to suit their unique tastes and needs — hanging fabric tapestries, picking out wallpaper, installing makeshift tabletops and even small stoves to cook pasta for their family.
Totaro frames the residents and the social identities they create for themselves inside of these huts; it’s a glimpse into the vivid lives and stories of the characters who inhabit them.
On the beach, a bartender spends most of his day lugging a heavy icebox full of cold drinks to sell, risking getting fined to make as much money as possible in preparation for the winter.
An aspiring politician gearing up for his campaign vigorously networks with the other beachgoers to gain support, undeterred by the passive responses of those just looking to relax.
A group of residents collectively draw from lottery tickets to try their luck at financial wealth. A family goes into debt so they can take their seaside holidays and appear wealthy — at least for the summer — in the eyes of the other beachgoers.
In between these coalescing stories, Totaro also captures a man with a metal detector, who is seen in brief moments scanning the beach in search of something valuable.
All of them are looking forward to the Ferragosto, the Italian public holiday, to celebrate at the summer vanity fair for a long night of drinking, dancing and festivities.
Through these stories, woven together in proximity and encountered on the beach, Totaro traces a shared desire for support — whether physical, moral, emotional or financial. It’s clear that everyone is chasing their own desires — hidden or otherwise — beyond just a happy time.
“‘Happy Winter’ is a vivid portrait of a small Italian community facing universal fears, hopes and struggles,” said Chris White, executive producer for POV. “With a gentle approach to its subjects, the film offers a hopeful and often humorous view into the struggles confronted by everyday people, salvaging genuine connection and community within an economic crisis. Happy Winter shows us the nuanced intersections between the personal and political down to an intimate, microscopic level.”
Watch On Your Schedule:
This film will stream online on POV.org in concurrence with its broadcast. Full episodes of POV are available to view on demand for a limited time after broadcast.
Join The Conversation:
POV is on Facebook, and you can follow @povdocs on Twitter. #HappyWinterPBS
"Happy Winter" film is on Facebook.
Credits:
The he film is an Indyca and Rai Cinema production in co-production with Zenit Arti Audiovisive, in association with Inthelfilm, Onirica, and American Documentary | POV. Director: Giovanni Totaro. Producers: Simone Catania and Francesca Portalupi. Editor: Andrea Maguolo. Original Music: Giordano Corapi. Executive Producers for POV: Justine Nagan and Chris White.
