Grozny Dreaming

by Mario Casella and Fulvio Mariani
44', Ditigal Betacam, Italy, 2007

In 1995 the German musician Uwe Berkemer founded, in Tbilisi, the Caucasian Chamber Orchestra  featuring musicians from every corner of the Caucasus, the mountainous region that extends for 1200 kilometers from the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea. In this land, disoriented after the fall of the USSR, many different ethnic groups who speak more than 40 languages live side by side. The musicians in this orchestra come from various republics of the Caucasus region: Russia, Chechnya, Armenia, Azeri, Daghestan, and others. They play together and overcome every difficulty to hold concerts in all of the republics of the Caucasus and thus demonstrate that peaceful coexistence, in this region martyred by war, is indeed possible. They have a great dream: a final concert in the capital of Chechnya, Grozny. This film is a travel diary that accompanies the orchestra from rehearsals to the concerts in the most distant parts of the Caucasus, entering at times in the homes of the musicians to tell the story of their lives and hopes for their native lands.

Fulvio Mariani, Mario Casella
Fulvio Mariani worked since 1981 as a cameraman and director for Swiss-Italian Radiotelevision, making films with the most famous alpinists in the world. After making, Cumbre, winner of many international prizes, he founded Iceberg Film, a production house specialized in adventure films. Mario Casella lives in Roveredo. He is an alpine guide, writer, and of late dedicates his time to the writing, direction, and production of documentaries.