These chilling words were spoken by Alfredo Ormando, an Italian writer who set himself on fire at the Vatican to protest the Catholic Church’s condemnation of homosexuality. Many years later, as the Pope resigns and homosexual scandals continue to leak out of the Catholic Church, the time is ripe to finally bring ALFREDO’S FIRE to the light of the screen.

Many other films have addressed LGBT issues, but none has offered such a captivating and intimate portrait of one man’s inner struggle to reconcile his faith and sexuality. Illuminated by Alfredo’s writings and provocative interviews with those who knew him best, this story is ready to be told. It is our goal to produce a powerful, beautiful and meaningful film that ignites awareness and change.

We have completed a fine cut of ALFREDO’S FIRE but need to raise significant funds in the next month to finish once and for all. We’ve just launched a Kickstarter crowd-funding campaign. You can contribute AND receive rewards for participating.

Can you please help? No amount is too small. Also, sharing this film with your personal social networks is key.

We are incredibly grateful for your support and look forward to bringing ALFREDO’S FIRE to you in the very near future. In the meantime let’s start kicking and Kickstarting!

Kickstart us now.

In un momento di grande inquietudine nella Chiesa cattolica, un nuovo documentario IL FUOCO DI ALFREDO (ALFREDO’S FIRE) racconta la storia di uno scrittore gay siciliano, Alfredo Ormando, che nel 1998 si diede fuoco a Piazza San Pietro. Alfredo aveva sperato che la sua protesta servisse ad attirare l’attenzione sulla condanna dell’omosessualità da parte della Chiesa. Ma nonostante alcuni attivisti italiani abbiano definito il suo gesto di immolazione lo “Stonewall italiano”, in realtà non si conosce quasi nulla della sua storia, dell’uomo che si è dato alle fiamme, delle sue motivazioni, e delle ripercussioni del suo gesto, che ora più che mai stanno venendo alla luce.

Schiacciato dai dogmi della sua fede e anche dai valori tradizionali siciliani di onore e silenzio, Alfredo si è sentito stretto nella morsa dell’auto-repressione, e sperava che la scrittura potesse liberarlo. Tuttavia, a seguito di vari rifiuti – degli editori, della sua famiglia, e persino del monastero in cui ha cercato di reprimere e redimere i suoi desideri – il mondo di Alfredo è divenuto sempre più cupo.

Narrato attraverso la notevole quantità di scritti e lettere lasciati da Alfredo, le interviste provocatorie con le persone che lo conoscevano bene, e una cinematografia ricca, il film racconta del desiderio dello scrittore di non sentirsi escluso, e rivela la lotta archetipica per riconciliare fede e sessualità.

Mentre la Chiesa cattolica e altre istituzioni religiose sono poste a confronto con scandali interni e il radicale mutamento delle interrelazioni sociali, IL FUOCO DI ALFREDO intende contribuire al dibattito sul matrimonio gay, il clero omosessuale, il bullismo omofobico. In un momento storico in cui Papa Benedetto XVI abdica al suo pontificato, il documentario diviene una forma di testimonianza per una chiesa più aperta e inclusiva, con la speranza che nessuna vita si sacrifichi più a causa delle conseguenze dell’intolleranza religiosa.

Il film è diretto da Andy Abrahams Wilson, il regista del documentario semifinalista agli Oscar UNDER OUR SKIN, e co-prodotto da Sara Marinelli. Il completamento è previsto per la fine della primavera 2013.

Contribuite alla campagna di raccolta fondi per finire il film.

At a time of upheaval in the Catholic Church, a new documentary film ALFREDO’S FIRE tells the forgotten story of a gay Italian writer who set himself on fire in St. Peter’s Square. Alfredo Ormando had hoped his 1998 protest would bring attention to the Church’s condemnation of homosexuality. But while some Italian activists have called his self-immolation the “Italian Stonewall,” little is known about the story–the man on fire, his motivations, and the repercussions that are coming to light now more than ever.

Conditioned by the teachings of his deeply held faith and by Sicilian values of honor and silence, Alfredo felt trapped in self-denial, hoping his writing would lift him. But after repeated rejections by publishers, his own family, and even a monastery where he desperately tried to repress his desire, Alfredo’s world turned increasingly dark. Shaped by his copious manuscripts and letters, rich cinematography, and provocative interviews with those who knew him best, the film intimately reveals Alfredo’s longing and the archetypal struggle to reconcile faith and sexuality.

As the Catholic Church and other religious institutions grapple with internal scandals and changing social attitudes, ALFREDO’S FIRE is poised to contribute to the discussion around same-sex marriage, homosexual clergy, gay bullying, and more. At a historic moment when Pope Benedict XVI abdicates his papacy, this documentary becomes a testament for a more open and inclusive Church, with the hope that no more lives are extinguished by the effects of religious intolerance.

The film is helmed by Andy Abrahams Wilson, the director of the Oscar-shortlisted UNDER OUR SKIN and is expected to premiere in late spring.

For information contact Open Eye Pictures: 415-332-3266 or mail@openeyepictures.com

Rev. Mel White, founder of Soul Force, shows memorial photo of Alfredo Ormando during Jubilee protest in St. Peter’s Square.

It was the year 2000, the Year of the Jubilee, and I was on location in front of the Vatican as part of production for the upcoming documentary “Alfredo’s Fire”. Together with organizers and advocates from around the world, including SoulForce and Dignity USA, we stood united in St. Peter’s Square against the spiritual violence of the Catholic Church.

The protestors planned to carry a letter personally to Pope Benedict XVI, although then he was not Pope Benedict but Cardinal Ratzinger, who oversaw Church doctrine as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. This protest letter was an appeal for the Church to acknowledge the ways in which its actions and teachings contributed to the harming and, in some cases, killing of LGBT people around the world. Alfredo Ormando was one such person.

Two years earlier, Alfredo Ormando had set himself on fire in St. Peter’s Square, giving his own life as a plea for change:

“I hope they’ll understand the message I want to leave. It is a form of protest against the Church that demonizes homosexuality and at the same time all of Nature, because homosexuality is her offspring.”

At the time, in part guided by Ratzinger’s prefecture, Alfredo’s gesture was downplayed by the Church as a desperate act of a lost soul.

It was Alfredo’s memory that was invoked at that Jubilee year protest and in the protest letter that never made its way to Cardinal Ratzinger, despite our attempts.

In Alfredo’s name and in the names of countless other LGBT people–from those burnt at the stake in the Middle Ages, to Alfredo’s fire, to the lives and spirits that are routinely extinguished because of the Catholic Church’s anti-gay teachings–may Pope Benedict XVI’s abdication signal new light and hope for all of us.

Help Open Eye Pictures launch its Kickstarter campaign to raise the funds to finish the film in the next few months. Enjoy drinks & noshes and the regalia of the Sisters, who are great supporters of the project.

Details:
Friday March 1, 6-8pm
Design Plus–San Francisco
333 8th Street (at Folsom)

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