Boston College Filmmaker Probes Sicilians' Revolt Against Mafia Culture in New Documentary

Boston College Filmmaker Probes Sicilians' Revolt Against Mafia Culture in New Documentary

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass., Dec. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Filmmaker John Michalczyk, a Boston College professor of fine arts, has released "Killing Silence: Taking on the Mafia in Sicily," a new documentary about how the citizenry of Sicily rose up to challenge the lawlessness and power of the Mafia.

"Killing Silence: Taking on the Mafia in Sicily" (2004, 50 min.), produced and directed by Michalczyk, was shot on location in Sicily. The film looks at the historic rise of the Mafia from the waning days of World War II to the Mafia wars of the 1970s and '80s. It then depicts the birth of the anti-Mafia movement when the citizens of Palermo, along with some fearless and charismatic leaders, literally took to the streets in outrage following the horrific 1992 Mafia slayings of two leading prosecutors, Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino. In the film, Sicilians discuss the goal of the anti-Mafia movement: to break the code of silence (omerta) and reclaim their neighborhoods and their culture from Mafia rule. Interviews with former Palermo mayor Leoluca Orlando and Sicilian-born Cardinal Salvatore Papalardo, retired bishop of Palermo, reveal the power the Mafia exerted in Sicily. Authors, psychologists and the son of a business owner murdered by the Mafia speak with hope about a new generation willing to discuss and challenge the old ways of life in Mafia-controlled Sicily.

The film received funding from the Thomas Tracy Foundation, Boston College, and the Barilla Family.

Michalczyk, co-director of Boston College's Film Studies Program and director of the Jacques Salmanowitz Program for Moral Courage in Documentary Film, is an accomplished documentary film producer, writer and director whose work has appeared in international film festivals as well as on public television. His documentaries focus on issues of social justice, adversity, hatred, war and conflict resolution. His other films include: "Different Drummers: Daring to Make Peace in the Middle East"; "South Africa: Beyond a Miracle"; "Unexpected Openings: Northern Ireland's Prisoners"; and "Displaced: Miracle at St. Ottilien," based on the experiences of US Army privates during the close of World War II who discovered the horrendous treatment of displaced Jews in a camp run by the US military.

John Michalczyk: 617-552-3895 or john.michalczyk@bc.edu

Contact:
Kathleen Sullivan
(617) 552-8644
kathleen.sullivan.1@bc.edu


Source: Boston College

CONTACT: John Michalczyk, +1-617-552-3895, john.michalczyk@bc.edu, or
Kathleen Sullivan, +1-617-552-8644, kathleen.sullivan.1@bc.edu, both of Boston
College

Web site: http://www.bc.edu/


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