
            Set in Australia and the Italian island of Sardinia, Balentes is a feature documentary that weaves together a personal journey of belonging and loss of innocence with the disturbing revelation of secret military incursions and the destruction and suffering caused to a small community.
Lisa Camillo is an anthropologist who has lived in Australia for 15 years, having left her birthplace of Sardinia to live in Australia, the country of her father. The 'curse' of having one foot in two countries was always present for Lisa, but it wasn't until she witnessed a beautiful tradition during her anthropology work that Lisa's yearning to return home was ignited.
In the dusty detention centre of Wagga, an Indigenous elder brings shoeboxes filled with dirt from the home country of the incarcerated youths. To step into the box is to feel the comfort of their own earth beneath their feet. A powerful longing for connection to her own roots and family makes Lisa decide to return to Sardinia - believing that this island on the other side of the world is her real home.
Balentes explores this deep, inner connection to one's homeland and poses the question: what makes us connect to our land?
What would we do to protect it?
Lisa's decision to return also prompts her to begin a documentary on a subject she's always been fascinated by: the fabulous history of Sardinia and its adoption by a Saudi Prince, the Aga Khan. Sardinia as the world knows it, and how Lisa remembers it, is the immeasurably beautiful island populated with tourist resorts and beaches, a playground for the rich and famous. The world sees only the azure oceans, the yachts, and marvels at the agrarian traditions and diet that is studied to understand the secrets of the long lives and great health supposedly enjoyed by them. It's also where her parents met when they worked for the Prince, a life of celebrities, parties and beauty. Lisa is overjoyed to be home and to commence work on this documentary; however, things quickly take a different direction.
Far from being excited for Lisa to return to Sardinia, her parents are worried. They question her decision to leave Australia. The island is not safe, they tell her, and there is poison, corruption and exploitation, all because of military plundering by the US and NATO, after Sardinia was effectively pimped out to both organisations by the Italian government.
As Lisa begins to investigate these claims, she realises there is a side to Sardinia of which she is completely unaware. What has happened to the place of her childhood? Is it still her home? Her research reveals the very tragic, traumatic circumstances under which the Sardinian people have been living for the past fifty or so years.
She goes on a road trip across her island home as she searches for answers to what has been happening, filming interviews with scientists, activists, politicians and local people. Through archival footage, family history and visiting many of the affected areas, she unravels the horrible actions against her homeland, the poverty and sickness, the turmoil. At the same time she is learning about herself, reflecting on why she had wanted to leave this island, and whether she still has the spirit of the Sardinian people inside her.
    

Lisa Camillo

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