Benvenuti al Sud

Benvenuti al Sud (Italy, 2010) dir. Luca Miniero

Alberto Colombo is the manager of a post-office in a northern Italian town, who longs for a transfer to Milan. After a botched attempt to push himself up the transfer waiting list, he is transferred to a branch near Naples, as punishment. When he arrives in the south, he is shocked at the laziness and inefficiency of the post office and its workers, although they soon become firm friends.

The film highlights the differences (both real and perceived) between working practices and work ethics in northern and southern Italy. The film features a number of scenes in the post-office and on the postman’s daily route.

Mine Vaganti

Mine Vaganti (Italy, 2010) dir. Ferzan Ozpetek

At the centre of the film is the Cantone family, from Lecce in southern Italy. The family owns a successful company which produces dried pasta. Tommaso, the younger son, lives in Rome and studies literature. He wants to be a writer but his father intends for him to take over the family business with his brother, Antonio. Neither brother wants this fate for himself. The film examines the difficulty of family relationships, both personally and professionally.

The film features scenes in the warehouse of the pasta company and there are also a number of dialogues discussing the nature of the family-run business in Italy.

Generazione Mille Euro

Generazione Mille Euro (Italy, 2009) dir. Massimo Venier

Matteo has a PhD in physics but works in a marketing firm in Milan, a job he hates and which he is sure he will soon be fired from. His situation is similar to that of many young Italians who live on €1000 a month- no mean feat in an expensive city like Milan. Matteo’s relationships with his best friend, Francesco (a cinema projectionist), Beatrice (a struggling teacher), and Angelica (a manager in the company he works for), are explored in the film.

The film features a number of scenes set in the marketing firm and shows strategy meetings, the design and launch of a major campaign, and the boss-worker relationship within the company.

Tutta la vita davanti

Tutta la vita davanti (Italy, 2008) dir. Paolo Virzì

Marta has just graduated with flying colours with a degree in philosophy. After failing to find work in her chosen industries, she resorts to working in a call centre as a tele-marketer. The environment she works in is filled with motivational speeches, team-bonding exercises, and weekly rankings among the workers. The film recounts the unexpected turn her life has taken and the situation for many young graduates in Italy who are employed ‘precariously’ on temporary contracts with few benefits or safeguards.

The film features many scenes in the call-centre as well as some brief moments in interviews during Marta’s job search. The role of trade unions is also touched upon.