Federico Lodoli and Carlo Gabriele Tribbioli present Elegy of the Enemy (2025), a film shot in Afghanistan in August 2022, one year after the Taliban’s return to power following the withdrawal of the U.S. armed forces. The film opens with a statement by Ilya Prigogine, a figure of Western critical thought, set in contrast with the perspective that emerges from the testimonies that follow. Through a non-narrative montage, the images – from the multicolored rocks of the mountains to the sands of the deserts, from the ruins of the past to cities such as Kabul, Kandahar, and Gardez – intertwine with the voices of nine former mujahideen fighters, portrayed individually. Their war accounts, theological reflections, and ethical considerations form a polyphonic monody that, in a lyrical tone of wonder and tension, offers an intimate representation of how the Taliban see themselves and the world: a vision marked by a fundamental immutability.
The event will take place at the Cinema Hall.
Free admission until capacity is reached.
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CARLO GABRIELE TRIBBIOLI (1982, Rome) lives and works in Rome. A visual artist and filmmaker with a degree in Philosophy, his practice is based on long-term projects resulting in archives, installations, books, and films. His works have been exhibited in museums and institutions including MACRO, Rome; MAMBO, Bologna; Museo del ’900, Milan; Quadriennale d’Arte, Rome; PAC, Milan; Centre d’Art Contemporain, Geneva; SBKM/De Vleeshal, Middelburg; and Auditorium Parco della Musica, Rome.
FEDERICO LODOLI (Rome, 1982) is a journalist, author, and director. Since 2006, he has investigated figures and situations of crisis in Africa and the Middle East. His work has appeared on Rai, France TV, ZDF, Al Jazeera, la Repubblica, and Il Foglio. He holds a PhD in Philosophy, with research focused on the themes of the body and conflict, and has conducted studies and lectures at the EHESS, CIPh, the University of Tor Vergata, and Roma Tre.
LODOLI and TRIBBIOLI began working together in 2015 with Frammento 53, their first feature-length documentary shot in Liberia and based on personal testimonies of former combatants and local warlords. Both trained in philosophy, Lodoli and Tribbioli found common ground in moving images, sharing the aim of making films on the theme of conflict, shooting in war zones with a hybrid approach combining documentary, essay film, and experimental cinema. In addition to Frammento 53 and Elegy of the Enemy, they are co-authors of the book Towards the Altar of a God Unknown (Humboldt Books, Milan 2018) and of several reports and documentaries shot in Liberia, Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Central African Republic.