Cannes: Roberto Minervini transitions to fiction

by Elisa Giudici

THE DAMNED © Okta Film Pulpa Film

In 2018, Italian documentarian Roberto Minervini adeptly captured the underlying tensions of American society amidst the backdrop of Trumpism and racism in What You Gonna Do When the World’s on Fire?, which premiered at Venice. Having called the United States home since 2000, Minervini demonstrates a keen understanding of the nation's profound anxieties, skillfully depicting them in his documentaries, often anticipating topics later dissected by journalists and political commentators.

THE DAMNED by Roberto Minervini
It comes as no surprise then that Minervini, in transitioning to fiction with a historical film, chose to confront the Civil War, a pivotal moment in American identity formation...

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Doc Corner: 'What You Gonna Do When the World's on Fire?'

By Glenn Dunks

The streets of New Orleans are the setting for US-based Italian-born Roberto Minervini’s latest examination of the American south. If nothing else, his newest documentary sports the year’s best title. It’s a title that asks a question that many of us have probably asked ourselves, from seats of privilege. 

The title actually comes from a slave-era spiritual, which only further highlights the tragic ways that African Americans have been inflicted by the force of racism across all of its forms for centuries. The contemporary age of Trump is sadly not unique and so there is a particular irony to be found in the answer to the titular question. For many the answer is whatever they need to do to get by. Whether that be protest, go to work, trawl the streets for teenage kicks, or rehearse for Mardi Gras. For most without the agency of privilege, when the world is on fire it’s just a struggle to not get burnt...

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