LOGLINE
The surprising discovery of a Communist Party in Switzerland, which won a new seat in the 2019 Ticino Canton Elections.
SYNOPSIS
The life and activities of Massimiliano Arif Ay, the general secretary of the Communist Party of Switzerland, are the central thread of the documentary film. The narrative revolves around the day of the vote counting, experienced with great participation by Max and his young collaborators inside a small Swiss house, the headquarters of the Communist Party, in the Solduno neighborhood of Locarno. Max's speeches alternate with personal archive material related to episodes from his adolescence and the choices that had led him to become the Party's secretary when, as a fourteen-year-old boy, he had fallen in love with social issues after listening to a lecture by his high school teacher.
DIRECTOR’S NOTE
My interest lies in providing an impartial overview that includes the statements of the young members of the Communist Party, those of people with different political opinions, and those of the everyday people who live and work in Switzerland. This builds up to a tableau, a glimpse of a garden, a green and avant-garde Eden, but where, behind the mountains and lakes, one discovers how a seemingly perfect system for absorbing the great political, financial, and social changes in Europe coexists with the inescapable needs brought about by economic, cultural, and social disarray present even in Switzerland.