State of Affairs

Through little-seen archive and his characteristically cinematic analysis, Mark Cousins narrates the ascent of fascism in Italy and its fall-out across 1930s Europe, with the main message being that Mussolini’s defeat did not mean the end of fascism as an influential movement. Cousins employs diverse narrative strategies, from his trademark detailed dissection of film sequences, scenes from Italian film classics, archival footage, images of current-day Italy, and staged readings. His analysis of the fascist film A Noi! – a pseudo-documentary about the March on Rome – points to the key role played by propaganda. Both essay film and historical document, The March On Rome contextualises history through the now, holding a mirror to a political landscape of a creeping far right and manipulated media.