Through little-seen archive and his characteristically cinematic analysis, Mark Cousins narrates the ascent of fascism in Italy and its fall-out across 1930s Europe. Both essay film and historical document, Cousins contextualises history through the now, holding a mirror to a political landscape of a creeping far right and manipulated media.
“Far right politics appear in many places. I grew up in Northern Ireland in the 70s, which was our own anni di piombo, the 'leaden years' of political and sectarian unrest. It was a time of a low temperature war – the Troubles – but it was also a time when the UK government operated underground with far-right paramilitaries to suppress the civil rights movement. The dangerous right were, therefore, a part of my life. So, this is a topic I have been interested in for most of my career, and the 100th anniversary of the March on Rome seemed like a good occasion to return to it.” (Mark Cousins)