These film materials, kept in the Archives of Home Movies – National Archives of Family Films (Bologna), constitute an important historical testimony of the First World War. Fronti does not focus on the documentary aspect of the conflict, but reveals the expectation, stasis and metaphysical silence of the trench warfare. The music of the soundtrack, for clarinet, alpine choir and live electronics, is a lively counterpoint to the black and white images of the film.
Fronti and 1915 The Armenian Files.
On December 11, 2015, the day Roberto Paci Dalò received the Premio Napoli, his new music project was released, published by Marsèll Records. Roberto Paci Dalò is one of the winners (alongside Paolo Poli, Bianca Pitzorno, and Serena Vitale) of the Premio Napoli 2015. The “Premio Napoli for the Italian Language and Culture” is among the most prestigious national awards supporting contemporary creation and has been awarded since 1954. During the award ceremony the artist performed the world premiere of Fronti at the RAI Auditorium in Naples. The work evokes the atmosphere and traces of a devastating conflict – World War I – through a unique combination of choir, live electronics music, and excerpts from original films sourced from rare archival footage of the time.

This was the jury’s statement:
“Composer, theatre director, visual and sound artist, Roberto Paci Dalò is one of the most versatile figures on the Italian scene and certainly one of our most internationally renowned artists. A pioneer of experimental theatre since the early 1980s with his company Giardini Pensili, a musician and composer admired by the likes of John Cage and Alvin Curran, a visual and sound artist who has made a mark on both the European and American scenes, and more recently even in China, Paci Dalò has undoubtedly played a significant role in presenting a dynamic image of Italian culture—one that is usually melancholically confined within its own borders—as vibrant and aligned with today’s processes of innovation.”