Palio EN
Palio
From the producers of the acclaimed documentaries Senna and Amy comes Palio. Twice a year the Italian city of Siena goes crazy for the oldest horse race in the world: the Palio. Not your average race: strategy, bribery and corruption play as much a part as the skill of the riders. The jockeys are loved and loathed by the districts they represent, forging alliances and making deals promising large cash sums to try and get the best start. The legendary Gigi Bruschelli has won 13 Palios by paying off younger jockeys and fixing the race. Only two races away from beating the world record, Bruschelli will do anything to win. But one jockey stands in his way, his former trainee, who is determined to challenge his old mentor.
Palio is the thrilling story of a young outsider keen to break in to the dangerous but lucrative race and the corrupt insider who has manipulated the city of Siena for over a decade. Their passionate and dramatic battle is an epic and cinematic tale, with breathtaking cinematography. The film won the Documentary Editing prize at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Title: Palio
Director: Cosima Spender
Country: UK
Language: Italian
Running time: 90 min
Year: 2015
Cast: Gigi Bruschelli, Giovanni Atzeni, Silvano Vigni, Andrea de Gortes
Producer: John Hunt, James Gay-Rees
“A rare kind of documentary – muscular and refined, and a splendour for the eyes.”
“A Hollywood Screenwriter couldn’t have come up with anything better.”
“An exhilarating experience, a sports documentary with a real sense of style.”
“Handsome and mirthfully hilarious doc unpacks Sienas most treasured biannual blood sport”
Best Editing – Tribeca Film Festival