The Forgotten War – San Gusmè and the Theatre of Remembrance

In 1944, toward the end of the Second World War, a group of women and children were massacred by German soldiers in a small Tuscan village. Seventy years later, the German-Italian theatre project Albicocche rosse [Red Apricots] revisits these brutal events. What do they say about the relationship between Germany and Italy, who were first allies and then enemies in this devastating conflict? What really happened that day in the village of San Gusmè? Beyond the violence and the logic behind the massacre, the film tells the story of daily life in the village under the occupation through the voices of those who live there today. More than 50 actors and musicians from Italy and Germany are involved in this collective project, setting aside their differences. Filmmakers Eduard Erne and Ulrich Waller, both closely involved in the project, document the tragic events of the past century and the process in this theatre of remembrance.