The Valley of the Jato

THE VALLEY OF THE JATO. A Quixote against the mafia in Italy.mp4

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In the heart of Sicily, where the Mafia still rules, one man and his family-run TV station, has become a relentless voice against corruption and organized crime.

La Valle dello Jato follows the daily life of selft-made journalist Pino Maniaci on his personal crusade to free Sicily from mafia and corruption with his family run tv station, Telejato.
In a land fighting to purge old traditions, energetic, chain-smoking Pino Maniaci is a controversial maverick struggling to stay on-air in shifting times. 

Caterina Monzani and Sergio Vega Borrego tell this tale of a modern-day Don Quixote fighting against the windmills of corruption and capitalism in the turbulent style of the Italian comedy. Above all, they show that the disappearance of independent local journalism is an irrecoverable loss for democracy.

DIRECTORS STATEMENT

La Valle dello Jato could be seen as a fairy tale, the one of an unlikely maverick, Pino Maniaci, fighting against the odds with his utterance of freedom and justice via his family run TV station, Telejato. However, it is a true story, which turns this film more into horror tale than a fairy one. What brought us to Telejato was the possibility of making a film that would touch big issues from a very human point of view- the one of a man and a father that sacrificed and revolutionized his life and family for a dream. 

On the one hand, we deal with themes such as freedom of press, the restricted Sicilian mentality, the effort of new generations to subvert old traditions and the mutuality between
law and private interest, in most instants illegal. On the other hand, the relationship between a man and his family that makes this mission more delicate; because Pino’s battle against corruption and the mafia is based on his family commitment to the TV, it is constantly restrained by Pino’s own nature. 

 

Miafilm
Directed by: 
Caterina Monzani & Sergio Vega Borrego
Italy / UK
2012
67 min. / 56 min.
HD
Languages: 
Italian with English subtitles
Festivals: 
_Best Italian Documentary Award. RIFF Rome Independent Film Festival 2013.
_DOK Leipzig. 56th Iinternational Leipzig Festival 2013. Germany. International Programme Documentary Film. German Premiere
_Documentary in Europe, Bardonecchia, Italy. 2013
_Monterrey Film Festival 2013, Mexico.
_Est Film Festival 2013. Montefiscone. Italy
_Biografilm Festival 2013. Bologna, Italy