The Last Dance

Antonio Pellicano, Italy

My project was born from the primary need to pass on to posterity the beautiful love story of my parents. In the days of the pandemic, I felt an urge to testify to their feelings and to overcoming the oppression of the closure that I and they experienced. And so, day after day, I tried to freeze their moments and also their loneliness. I have already obtained a small result, now I know them better through photography. My project aims at refining the golden age and I intend to continue, not only in their family environment, but also with their difficulty in living and resuming their first shy moments of socialization. Because often those people have no voice, they are part of another generation that will have great difficulties to start again. My parents are known in their community because they lead an association that used to gather more than 100 elderly people with social dancing and dating activities. What will become of their future? There is a strong will to open everything in autumn. My father is 85 years old and my mother 83, they have known eachother for at least 70 years and have been married since 1957. I am very interested in the strength beyond the sentiments that this copy gives off. Of course, there is the sign of time in them, but also a youthful freshness and a strong attachment to life. Reggio Calabria, Italy, 2020.

Discover more: Shortlist 2021