Synopsis
The docu-film The Absent Presence begins with a critical recognition on the transformations in recent Friulian society, identity and environment. Besides the main cities, those suburbs that were the strongholds of ancient civil and essential values have been now experiencing a rapid process of loss of identity. Gradually the social fabric made by strong and plausible interpersonal relations has been dismantled. The Friulian writer Franco Marchetta was the one and only who put these topics at the center of his writings, both in Italian and Friulian language.
The movie recalls places and stories from the dystopic Friulian environment described in most of his novels. The witnesses who shared work and friendship with him are now living in an apocalyptic Friuli and will have to think about his narrative legacy and the role of memory in modern society. A mix of fiction and reality in order to rethink the biopic through new expressive forms.
