GAMeC in collaboration with Lab 80 film and the The Department of Foreign Languages, Literatures and Cultures of the University of Bergamo, presents A Practice of Freedom, the Film Program dedicated to the themes of Pedagogy of Hope, GAMeC’s interdisciplinary initiative that explores education as a practice of freedom and transformation.

Throughout 2026, on a monthly basis, the film series will bring together great classics, auteur cinema, and artists’ videos, offering new opportunities for discussion and in-depth exploration.

Inspired by the thought of Brazilian educator Paulo Freire and American activist and writer bell hooks, A Practice of Freedom will explore alternative narratives and critical perspectives on three main themes: the marginalization of certain subjectivities and social groups, capable of challenging traditional paradigms and imagining a culture of resistance; pedagogical experimentation within artistic and creative practices, aimed at building shared knowledge capable of producing effects on social reality; and the exploration of issues related to new technologies and the implications of algorithmic thinking, envisioning a more conscious, ethical, and responsible use of them.

On Friday, June 19th at 9:00 PM, the Sala dell’Orologio at Palazzo della Libertà in Bergamo will host a screening of Divine Comedy (2005, 98’). Directed by Ali Asgari and premiered at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival, the film uses sharp sarcasm to expose the sheer absurdity of Iran’s censorship system.

The protagonist is Bahram, a 40-year-old director who has spent his entire career making films in Turkish-Azerbaijani, his mother tongue. However, none of his works have ever been approved for screening in Iran, blocked by a censorship board that conjures up increasingly specious arguments every time. Following yet another rejection by the Ministry of Culture, Bahram decides to hop on his Vespa with his producer, Sadaf. Together, they set off to clandestinely screen the film for the Iranian public, in a bold act of defiance against regime censorship and its surreal bureaucracy.