Essere Lucy = Being Lucy /
Lucy can narrate almost the entire 20th century from a point of view that has often been neglected: this documentary is in fact a precious and unique testimony of the life of a transsexual person who lived through the most dramatic moments of recent history, from fascism to deportation into a concen...
| Other Authors: | |
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| Format: | Video |
| Language: | Italian |
| Language Notes: | In Italian with English subtitles. |
| Published: |
[Place of publication not identified] :
Privately Published,
2011.
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| Series: | Academic Video Online
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Connect to this streaming video (Alexander Street Press) |
| Summary: | Lucy can narrate almost the entire 20th century from a point of view that has often been neglected: this documentary is in fact a precious and unique testimony of the life of a transsexual person who lived through the most dramatic moments of recent history, from fascism to deportation into a concentration camp, from the Italian economic post-war "miracle" to sexual liberation. Luciano, born in 1924, was always aware of being "different", ever since he was a child in a small provincial town in Northern Italy. In the 1930s, the family moved to Bologna where he started being part of a gay social circuit which, despite the fascist regime's repression, managed to be extensive and lively. He had to join the army, but he deserted as soon as he heard of the armistice, in 1943. He escaped imprisonment several times, but he was eventually caught in the company of a German officer in an hotel room and was sent to a labour camp. He was finally sent to Dachau, miraculously as a red triangle because bureaucracy had lost trace of the affair with the German officer, but had kept record of his leaving the army. He survived, but coming back home was a sweet and sour event: his family was ashamed of having a deserter and a homosexual under their roof; they made it clear he was not welcome. Luciano left, started working in Rome, in the theatre as a dancer, but he had to prostitute himself as well to make ends meet. In the late 1950s, he decided to emigrate and, like many Italians in those years, he moved to Turin, the new industrial city in Italy, where he re-invented his life as an upholsterer. That's where he found happiness, friends, professional fulfilment, a fairly big gay community, and that's where he matured the choice of having a sex-reassignment operation. Lucy is a very active, positive and lively older lady with several interests, such as cooking and dancing. She loves talking about her past and is a great story-teller. Inspired by the director's book on Lucy (Il mio nome è Lucy, Donzelli 2009), the documentary follows her in a journey to the most significant places of her life: Fossano, her birth place, Dachau, Torino and Bologna. Lucy's words are often distant from the "Official History" picture and give us a sense of the uniqueness of her experience and the lonely, brave path she chose to take. |
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| Item Description: | Title from title screen (viewed July 18, 2022). Inspired by the director's book on Lucy (Il mio nome è Lucy, Donzelli 2009). |
| Physical Description: | 1 online resource (60 minutes) |
| Playing Time: | 00:59:56 |