THE QUEENS OF CUBA. WHILST THE DRAG QUEENS OF L’HAVANA DREAM OF THEATRE STAGES, CUBA’S MACHO CULTURE PREVENT THEM FROM PERFORMING IN PUBLIC SPACES. INSTEAD THEY HAVE CREATED AN UNDERGROUND CIRCUIT OF PARTIES, ADVERTISED TO A VERY SELECT AUDIENCE, WHERE THEY PERFORM THEIR DANCE AND MUSICAL SHOWS. FOR THESE CUBAN DRAG QUEENS, THEIR ART IS AN EXPRESSION OF AN INTIMATE SIDE OF THEIR PSYCHE, THEIR GENDER IDENTITY, AFFIRMED THROUGH A METICULOUS CARE FOR THE SCENE’S COSTUMES. THE STAGE IS THE ONLY PLACE WHERE THEY CAN OPENLY EXPRESS THE TENSIONS CAUSED BY THE CONFLICT BETWEEN THEIR BIOLOGY AND THEIR GENDER IDENTITY. THE PORTFOLIO HAS BEEN AWARDED WITH THE FIRST PRIZE AT THE COMPETITION "PREMIO LE LOGGE" - TOSCANA FOTO FESTIVAL 2004 - GIVEN BY FRANCO FONTANA, WITH THE FIRST PRIZE AT THE SAVIGNANO FOTO FESTIVAL GIVEN BY DENIS CURTI AND THE THIRD PRIZE IN THE ART AND ENTERTAINMENT CATEGORY OF THE WORLD PRESS PHOTO CONTEST 2005
PORTRAIT OF A POETESS - ALDA MERINI. IN DECEMBER 2004 THE ITALIAN POETESS ALDA MERINI, AFTER A LONG, INTENSE AND PAINFUL ARTISTIC EXPERIENCE, HAS RECEIVED THE "BENEMERITO DELLE ARTI" AWARD GIVEN BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE ITALIAN REPUBBLIC CIAMPI. SHE HAS PREVIOUSLY RECEIVED SEVERAL IMPORTANT AWARDS AND A NOMINATION FOR THE NOBEL PRIZE. ALDA MERINI " BORN TOGETHER WITH THE SPRING " IN MARCH 1931, IN A MIDDLE CLASS FAMILY, HAD AN INTENSE AND DRAMATIC LIFE. IN 1965 SHE HAS BEEN SEPARETED BY HER KIDS AND RECLUDED FOR SEVEN YEARS IN MADHOUSE. THIS TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCE HAS CHARACTERIZED A GREAT PART OF HER POETIC PRODUCTION. NOW SHE LIVES ALONE IN A SMALL FLAT IN THE NAVIGLI AREA OF MILANO. HER HOUSE SEEMS TO BE THE MIRROR OF HER THEATRICAL SOUL. SHE HAS RECENTLY PUBBLISHED HER LATEST WORK " IL POEMA DELLA CROCE " (THE CROSS POEM).

ALANG SHIP BREAKING YARD - THE WORLD'S BIGGEST SHIP BREAKING YARD OF ALANG ON THE COASTS OF GUJARAT - INDIA - IS A CRITICAL EXAMPLE OF WORK EXPLOITATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE. SHIPS ARE DESMANTLED AND SOLD FOR SCRAPS. EVERYTHING WHICH IS NOT RECYCLABLE INCLUDING PETROL OR TOXIC WASTES, IS THROWN IN THE INDIAN OCEAN. WORKERS HAVE NONE OR VERY LITTLE PROTECTIONS AND FATAL ACCIDENTS ARE OCCOURRING EVERY DAY.

THIS PROJECT WAS PRODUCED FOR THE JACK JACKSON AWARD 2003 ASSIGNED TO MARCELLO BONFANTI BY THE PHOTO IMAGING COUNCIL UK.

SAHARAWY REFUGEE CAMPS - ALGERIAN SAHARA - IN 1975 WESTERN SAHARA - A FORMER SPANISH COLONY - WAS INVADED BY MOROCCO AND MAURITANIA. THE NATIVE SAHARAWY PEOPLE, BOMBED WITH NAPALM AND WHITE PHOSPHORE, HAD TO FLEE TO A REMOTE AND INHOSPITABLE AREA OF THE ALGERIAN SAHARA. 29 YEARS LATER THEY STILL LIVE IN FOUR BIG REFUGEE CAMPS. THEY LITERALLY SURVIVE THANKS TO HUMANITARIAN AID, FACING PRACTICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS CAUSED BY THE ALMOST TOTAL ISOLATION. THE AIM OF THIS PROJECT WAS TO CAPTURE THE SENSE OF DESOLATION AND RESTORE THE REFUGEE'S DIGNITY.
THE SCHOOL OF CIRCUS - MILANO - FOUNDED IN 1994, THE SCHOOL OF CIRCUS " PICCOLA SCUOLA DI CIRCO ", SOON BECAME THE MOST IMPORTANT ITALIAN CRADLE FOR CIRCUS ARTS, ACROBATIC ARTS AND JUGGLING. IN THE PAST YEARS, THE SCHOOL HAS TRAINED HUNDREDS OF PUPILS AGED 3 TO 18 BUT ALSO DOZENS OF MATURE ARTISTS. THE SCHOOL OFFERS THE PUPILS THE POSSIBILITY TO PRACTICE A NON-CONVENTIONAL SPORTING DISCIPLINE AND THE NECESSARY PHYSICAL PREPARATION FOR CIRCUS ARTS AND STREET PERFORMANSCES. THESE FORMS OF EXPRESSIONS ARE A FUSION OF ATHLETICAL AND THEATRICAL TECHNIQUES. THE BODY IS USED AS AN EXPRESSSIVE TOOL THANKS TO A LONG, CAREFUL AND CONSTANT PREPARATION. THE PUPILS BECOME FAMILIAR WITH UNUSUAL AND SOMETIMES UNSTABLE FORMS OF BALANCE.