IL CERCHIO/THE CIRCLE
Italy, 2022, 108 minutes, Colour.
Directed by Sophie Chiarello.
This is a significant documentary about primary school children. It was filmed over a period of five years, beginning when the children at the centre of the film were five and six, moving through each year until they came to the end of the primary school period, aged eleven to twelve.
This is a film very much for parents and teachers, an opportunity to listen to the children, the issues they raise, their interactions with one another, the growing sense of responsibility… But the film would also be very interesting to children, for parents and teachers to gauge the children’s response, empathies, critiques.
The film was made in Rome in a multi-cultural, multi-ethnic neighbourhood. Some of the children remain at the same school over the period of the five years, while others come to the school after being bullied at another school, and some are the children of migrants.
And the title? The basic idea is for the children to meet regularly, supervised by the teacher, but not in a formal classroom situation, a free circle where topics are raised, questions asked by the teacher but the camera not on the teacher, an opportunity for children to act their age. The camera is firmly focused on the children, a great number of close-ups, extreme close-ups of faces, gathering the range of expressions, spontaneous responses.
Parents and teachers may not be surprised at the topics that are raised, many indicating a surprising degree of sophistication, of reflection, of articulation, of interaction. Audiences who see the film and are not directly involved in primary school education may be very surprised at how the children react. Generally, they sound like children, but the words and discussions are sometimes surprisingly wise, often have some depth, lead to a greater awareness of persons and issues, a greater sense of responsibility.
This is just one example, from Italy in the 2010s, and any parallel version of The Circle would be welcomed.
