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“Italy may have its own FAHRENHEIT 9/11 with comedian-helmer Sabina Guzzanti's witty and scathing VIVA ZAPATERO!” ( Variety ). Smart, funny, thoroughly entertaining and not a little scary, Guzzanti's demolition of Silvio Berlusconi and his cohorts loses nothing from Italy's recent change in political leadership. So intelligent is its exploration of media censorship that its lessons can be applied to many countries beyond Italy, which was demoted by Freedom House in 2004 from a status of “free” nation to “partly free,” below such countries as Namibia and East Timor, because of media consolidation and censorship. When satirist Sabina Guzzanti's popular evening show, in which she did a dead-on imitation of Berlusconi, was suddenly pulled off the air - “Imagine if Jon Stewart's “The Daily Show” were cancelled by the Bush administration, and the problem becomes clear” ( Variety ) - and Guzzanti found herself lambasted or abandoned even by liberal critics she expected to support her, the feisty comedian decided to fight back by making this film. A skillful interviewer, Guzzanti lays bare the mechanisms of self-censorship, second guessing, and political opportunism that stifle cultural and political discourse in Italy - and, increasingly, in other “democracies” around the world. “A galvanizing blend of humour and righteous indignation” ( Variety ). Not to be missed. JQ
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