Documentary | 30 November 2011

An Anthropological Television Myth is a gloriously jagged collage of fragments culled from an independent Sicilian TV station's output in the mid-90s – the period just before the 'Berlusconi era'. But whereas the Milanese media mogul's spells as president were notable for the cynical degradation of his nation's television output, with its bawdy game-shows earning much overseas derision, the small broadcaster showcased here evidently foregrounded and documented local grass-roots political shenanigans. With no commentary or captions, the film plunges us into a lively day-before-yesterday epoch when the authorities' battles with the Mafia produced an atmosphere akin to Civil War on the streets. Virtuouso editing knits together a dizzyingly wide range of sights and sounds that consistently fascinate and impress.