SHELTER: Farewell to Eden, the third feature-length film by Enrico Masi. The story of Pepsi, a transsexual activist born in the south of the Philippines on an island of Muslim faith. From Mindanao to the jungle of Calais, Pepsi pursues the recognition of a universal right, living the odyssey of asylum in Europe.

Documentary, 81′ – 2019

Directed by Enrico Masi
Produced by Caucaso, Ligne 7, RAI Cinema
Distribution Istituto LUCE Cinecittà
Collaboration: Editing (Giuseppe Petruzzellis)

Pepsi is an individual in transition, searching for stable employment as a caregiver, having worked for over ten years in Gaddafi’s Libya as a nurse before being forced to join the flow of refugees. Her off-screen narration is a post-colonial parable in which the European geography intertwines with emotional drama. Her wandering evokes the ancient myth of Europa, in which a young woman was abducted and seduced by Jupiter in the guise of a bull, who carried her to a Mediterranean island from which she would give the continent its name.

The documentary was produced across Sardinia, Emilia, Liguria, the Maritime Alps and Paris over three years, with a total of nearly 90 hours of footage, plus archival material and original film shot in 8mm and 16mm. The film tells the story of a Filipino transgender woman across global borders. Structured as a dreamlike narrative, Shelter represents the final chapter of a trilogy begun in 2012, dedicated to the impact of Mega Events. A post-colonial story in which the central themes are identity, borders, landscape and the body in transition. Shelter addresses its audience as an intimate diary, in which personal drama is reflected within natural and suburban landscapes.

Distribution / Festivals

CPH:DOX AWARD / Copenaghen
CINÉMA DU RÉEL / International Competition / Forum Des Images – Centre Pompidou / Paris
BFI FLARE – LONDON
SHEFFIELD DOC FEST

Freely available for streaming on RaiPlay