Videocracy On DVD

In Italy one man only has kept the domination of the image over three entire decades. As a TV-magnate and then as Presidente, Silvio Berlusconi has created a perfect system of TV-entertainment and politics. Like no one else he has influenced the content of commercial television in Italy. His TV-channels, known for their over-exposure of almost naked girls, are seen by many as a mirror of his own taste and personality. In VIDEOCRACY director Erik Gandini returns to his country of birth portraying from the inside the consequences of a TV-experiment that Italians have been subjected to for 30 years.

Berlusconi’s commercial television has been a strong experience for me and my generation. In the late 80s, 20 years old, I moved from Bergamo to Sweden and discovered an inspiring cinematic art form: “creative documentary”. Since then, I have been struck by the how television in Italy has concentrated more and more under the control of Silvio Berlusconi. No other single Italian has influenced the content of commercial television in particular in Italy like him. 30 years of a TV-flow that is like a mirror of his taste and personality…all this raised a question in me: what is the impact on the country’s soul?

Erik Gandini