The Imperial Lullaby
Filippo Foscarini, Marta Violante
Italy | 2020 | 23’15’’
Italian colonialism is still shrouded in obscurity. White Africa tells the story of the fascist invasion of Ethiopia in 1936 through the lens of a child’s school drawings.
Original Title: Africa Bianca
Direction: Filippo Foscarini, Marta Violante
Script: Filippo Foscarini
Editing and Animation: Marta Violante
Production: Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, Sicilian Film Commission Regione Siciliana, Archivio Storico Istituto Luce, Istituto Nazionale per i Beni Sonori e Audiovisivi

Filippo Foscarini
Filippo Foscarini graduated in Comparative Literature from Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and studied Documentary at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Palermo. His film Waking Hours, co-directed by Federico Cammarata, was screened at the Film Festival in 2025, receiving the Mario Serandrei Award for Best Technical Contribution. Waking Hours, currently in distribution, recently won the Best International Film Award in the Meteors section at Beldocs (Belgrade), and the Casa Rossa Award for Best Italian Debut Film at the 43rd Bellaria Film Festival.

Marta Violante
Marta Violante, born in Milan in 1991, lives and works in Palermo. She studied Audiovisual Communication in Spain and Mexico and graduated in Documentary Directing from the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia. In the years following Africa Bianca (2020), she collaborated on several film and documentary projects with directors such as Stefano Savona and Sara Fgaier, taking care of directorial assistantships, editing, production, and archival research. She is the co-founder of La Bandita, a filmmaking association and collective based in Palermo. Today, she works primarily in schools, where she designs and leads participatory filmmaking workshops for children and young adults.


