- This documentary film is a heartfelt glimpse at the passion of a people that have cultivated the steep mountainous land of a small region of the Italian, Ligurian coastline called Le Cinque Terre, to produce a little known, specialty dessert wine called Sciacchetra' (Shock - eh - tra). Sadly enough, the production of Sciacchetra' in the old way of the farmers, growing, harvesting, vinifying and bottling their own Sciacchetra', is a rapidly vanishing age old tradition. With under twenty private generational Sciacchetra' producers left, most are being maintained by an aging generation whose heirs are unwilling and uninterested in receiving the torch that has been passed down by nearly 25 generations. As one local resident, Giuliano Basso, (the unofficial mayor of Vernazza), who has cultivated Sciacchetra' as well as his father and grandfather, commented, "The younger generation just want to rent out rooms and work in the bars because cultivating grapes is too much work." The slogan of the film is, "Passion, Culture, Legacy and Life" because it is the Passion that builds our Culture, which leaves the Legacy of our Life. Watch as the film shows the path to the revitalization of Sciacchetra production.—Larry A. Burns, Jr.
- Land of Sciacchetra' Film Synopsis Exec. Producer - Larry A Burns Jr ° Assoc. Producer - Christopher Dearborn | Copyright ® 2010 - Writer's Guild of America 2010 |European-American Motion Picture Group 1 of 1 This documentary film is a cinematic, heartfelt glimpse at the passion of a people that for over 600 years have cultivated the steep mountainous land of a small region of the Italian, Ligurian coastline called Le Cinque Terre, to produce a little known, but culturally important passito dessert wine called Sciacchetra (Shock eh tra). Sadly enough, the production of Sciacchetra' is a rapidly vanishing age old tradition. With under twenty independent Sciacchetra' producers left, most are being maintained by an aging generation whose heirs are unwilling and uninterested in receiving the torch that has been passed down by nearly 25 generations.
The slogan of the film is, Passion, Culture, Legacy and Life because it is the Passion that builds our Culture, which leaves the Legacy of our Life.
Le Cinque Terre translates to "Five Lands", named after the five villages that adorn 15 kilometers of the Ligurian coastline; Monterosso Al Mare, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggiore. Each has its own unique personality, but the one commonality that binds them together, is a specialty dessert wine called Sciacchetra.
This work, cultivating and harvesting the grapes in Cinque Terre is long hours and treacherous physical labor, climbing up narrow, stone steps, set into eight to sixteen foot tall terraces, carrying fifteen to twenty kilos of grapes in a large tub or basket, carried upon their shoulders. They climb terrace after terrace risking their lives for something that so many of us take for granted by simply purchasing what we need at the supermarket; grapes. They don't do this for the money, because there's not much money in it. They do this for the passion of keeping up this tradition that has been looked after by their forefathers. As one local resident, Giuliano Basso, (the unofficial mayor of Vernazza), who has cultivated Sciacchetra as well as his father and grandfather, commented, The younger generation just want to rent out rooms and work in the bars because cultivating grapes is too much work.
As if times for these producers weren't difficult enough, living under the rules of the decade-old National Park, "Parco Nazionale delle Cinque Terre", and relying upon the park for assistance has made things challenging. In September of 2010 the National park president, Franco Bonanini, both the mayor and the chief of police of Riomaggiore and nine other park officials were arrested in a wave of charges ranging from fraud against the state and embezzlement to domestic violence. Over 900 pages of charges were drawn up. This arrest sent Cinque Terre into shock. It sparked fighting, bickering and division amongst the residents; some in favor of Franco Bonanini, the one they called "The Pharaoh", and others against him, claiming to have been victims of his bullying, abuse and coercion.
As the viewer is lead through the film, they are brought into a virtually hidden micro-culture, and transported back in time as it may seem.
The people of Cinque Terre have proven their resilience over the centuries. Will the computer age, modern conveniences and crumbling local government be the death of these family legacies or will the production of this magical family tradition known as Sciacchetra, and the family pride that it instills and represents, go on? "Everything rises or falls with the next generation." ~ Larry A Burns Jr
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What is the English language plot outline for Land of Sciacchetra' - Passion, Culture, Legacy & Life (2013)?
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