Comrade Alfredo Neri

" Comrade Alfredo Neri is a "performative documentary" on media representation and identity construction through the media, by Khaled Ramadan and Alfredo Cramerotti. "

The video is a constructed documentation, with real interviews and footage material, about the life of Alfredo Neri, the spokesman of the Italian fraction of the Skinhead Movement. The skinheads are affiliated with the neo-Nazis and are active in the European countries as well as in the former East Block. Neri is the representative and promoter of the Italian division of the skinheads, their international affiliations and events; in other words, the representative of the state of fear that envelops civil societies. In the documentary, he explains how the movement changed its strategy to suit contemporary global political tendencies, urging its members to operate as invisible as possible and infiltrate the political, economic, and cultural structures, with the ultimate aim to rule in Europe. They operate without being exposed and are directly affiliated with the neo-Nazi ideology.

Is history about to repeat itself, changing only the outfit? The authors met Alfredo Neri during his visit to Scandinavia, on his travel to Helsingborg, Sweden, for the annual gathering of the neo-Nazi movement in Autumn 2005. The film is presented after a short lecture-introduction by Khaled Ramadan, followed by a discussion with the audience, in which the spokesperson takes part unexpectedly. The whole project «Comrade Alfredo Neri» questions media representation and construction of identity through a fake documentary-portrait based on real facts, presented as Part 1 of the project. The audience itself becomes Part 2, the debate, discussion and sparking of stimuli injected by the film.

Presented at the Royal Academy of Art in Copenhagen (2006), Hotel Pro Forma in Copenhagen (2006), part of the itinerant project «The Disappearance of the Public Space», curated by Goran Petrovic (2007). The piece has also been shown on tv-tv Copenhagen (2006), at the Contemporary Art Centre of South Australia, Adelaide (2008) and at Manifesta 8, Region of Murcia, Spain (2010-11) as part of the contribution by AGM 10. "

Comrade Alfredo Neri
Film


srpski
The film Comrade Alfredo Neri is about visual manipulation; it demonstrates how motion picture, in all its forms can drag us into or out of something, how it affects our feelings and helps shaping our opinion.
It wants to show how a camera can transform an ordinary man into an unpleasant character by the use of special light, filter and sound effect.
The video was meant to raise awareness, not of the Neo Nazi movement only, but of the media's participation in shaping our world-views and opinions.
As an activist video Comrade Alfredo Neri is our reflection on the media and on some level its loss of neutrality and independence.

Khaled Ramadan

Photo courtesy by Chamber of Public Secrets (www.chamber.dk)