To mark the 110th anniversary of the establishment of the Foreign Press Association in Italy, ASEI, the documentary ‘La storia siamo (anche) noi’ by director Diana Ferrero was presented on October 10 at the prestigious Roman headquarters of the Baths of Diocletian, in the presence of Italian President Sergio Mattarella. A choral account of the reports in the field, the scoops and the challenges of some foreign correspondents in Rome, from the ‘great’ doyens of the historical newspapers to the young freelancers who strive every day to find their place in the profession.
The Foreign Press Association in Italy was established in 1912 in Rome and is today the largest organization of foreign correspondents in the world, with about 450 members, based in Rome and Milan, from 54 countries representing over 800 media. The history of the Foreign Press Association in Italy began in the famous Caffè Faraglia in Piazza Venezia, when, on 17 February 1912, for the first time 14 journalists from 6 different countries decided to join. Its current headquarters are in Via dell’Umiltà and its role is still the same as on the day it was founded: to offer foreign journalists services, professional assistance and social life, and to the city of Rome and the country, a window on the world, a direct channel of communication with dozens of countries through its correspondent members. The documentary aims to collect important testimonies from journalists whose lives have been intertwined with the history of Italy over the last 110 years.
110 years of history. The best journalists from all over the world. The events, personalities, encounters, achievements and awards that have marked the history of Italy from 1912 to the present day, spanning two world wars, summarized in 47 minutes.
Frenchwoman Marcelle Padovani recounts the mafia and the anti-mafia through her behind closed doors interviews with Giovanni Falcone; Mexican Valentina Alazraki recalls her 40 years as a Vaticanist alongside five Popes; American Patricia Thomas testifies to her presence in covering migrant landings and protests; Iranian Hamid Masoumi Nejad describes his job as a handyman covering politics and demonstrations. The President, turkish Esma Çakır, browses through the association’s archives from the time of Mussolini, and brings us back to the present with a mission to represent freelancers in the digital age and to cover Italy in the days of Covid.
Between earthquakes, migrations, politics, pandemics, art and food, the mosaic of the daily work of hundreds of journalists, both Italian and foreign, who have been covering Italy for years for newspapers, with the international mass media, is thus built.
Through the story of the association’s activities – from the Globo D’Oro film award to the to the Culture Group, the Sports’ group – the documentary is a snapshot of 110 years of Italian history, but also the excursus of an evolving profession, and above all a human story. The tale of those who witnessed history and had the privilege and responsibility of understanding, interpreting and telling Italy to the rest of the world.
