Regional Competition

The Stone River

Giovanni Donfrancesco
Screening time  
23.02. / Monday, 13:00 - 15:00 Theatre 4  
26.02. / Thursday, 20:00 - 22:00 Theatre 3  
'The Stone River' traces the destiny of European stone workers who, at the beginning of the 20th century, crossed the ocean to settle in the town of Barre, Vermont.

The Stone River traces the destiny of European stone workers who, at the beginning of the 20th century, crossed the ocean to settle in the town of Barre, Vermont, where they were opening the biggest granite quarries in the world. Within a few years, most of them were decimated by silicosis. At the end of the 30s the inhabitants of Barre were interviewed by some writers sent by the Roosevelt administration to depict a portrait of America during the Great Depression. For the movie, the inhabitants living in Barre today accepted to read out the texts of the interviews given by their ancestors back in the 30s. Through their voice, in a troubling junction between past and present, the film brings back to life their stories made of social battles, diseases and deaths, anarchist utopia, tragedy and hope.

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Giovanni Donfrancesco

Giovanni Donfrancesco is filmmaker and producer. A humanities graduate, he lives and works in Florence, Italy. He set up the Altara Films production company, which produces his own and other authors' projects. His films Shining Gold: Back to Cambodia (2009) and Modigliani's Genuine Fake Heads (2011) have been shown at Italian and international festivals.

General sponsor

THE STONE RIVER

France, Italy
2013, 88', DCP

Directed by:
Giovanni Donfrancesco

Screenplay by:
Giovanni Donfrancesco

Cinematography:
Giovanni Donfrancesco

Edited by:
Giovanni Donfrancesco, Thomas Glaser, Pauline Dairou, Muriel Breton

Music:
Piero Bongiorno; Olivier Touche

Producers:
Giovanni Donfrancesco, Estelle Fialon

Produced by:
Altara Films, Les Films du Poisson

Festivals & Awards:

Cinéma du Réel 2014 - Young Jury Award; Italian Golden Globe 2014 for Best Documentary; Yerevan International Film Festival 2014 – Grand Prize for Best Documentary; Cinemambiente Turin 2014 – Special Award; Ânûû-rû Âboro Film Festival 2014 – Prix Special du Jury; Rome International Film Festival 2013 – Poggiali Award for Best Documentary; It’s All True Film Festival Sao Paulo/Rio de Janeiro 2014; Reykjavik International Film Festival 2014