How (Not) to Film a Fascist Monument

Overview

In this bold and personal short, filmmaker Lorenz Zenleser reflects on his complicated relationship with the Victory Monument in Bolzano, an imposing fascist structure built in 1928 to mark Italy’s victory over Austria, which is still politically charged and actively appropriated by the far-right. As he sets out to film the monument’s troubled legacy, the camera itself seems to resist: double 8 mm footage begins to glitch and tremble. This formal revolt provides the opportunity to transform a personal inquiry into a haunting meditation on the endurance of fascist symbols in public space, and the difficulty of capturing them without reinforcing their presence.