Luca and Gustav, two men in their 30s, have been a stable couple for eight years. Nothing to get worked up about in a western European country, you would think – and you’d be wrong. Even in Euroland there are places where the acknowledgment of the basic civil rights of same-sex couples is a hot issue. Suddenly, Gustav’s and Luca’s quiet private life has been turned upside down. When the Italian center-left coalition initiates legislation about same-sex partnerships in Italy, a national debate is triggered instantly. In a matter of days it turns into the hottest political and cultural issue on the national agenda while intolerant homophobic attacks increase dramatically.

Suddenly, Last Winter

After their award winning documentary, 'Suddenly, Last Winter', Luca and Gustav are back. This time they have to decide: should they stay in Italy, or leave it, like so many of their friends have done already. Looking at some defining Italian icons, they go on a emotional trip on a old Fiat 500 through Italy, to look behind the cliches and to discover, what's left of the famous Italian way of life, confronting a glorious pas, a shaky present and an uncertain future.

Italy: Love It, or Leave It

Award-winning filmmakers Luca Ragazzi and Gustav Hofer make a bold and cheeky return to Hot Docs with another timely and autobiographical look at contemporary Italian society. Following their festival and theatrical hit films Suddenly Last Winter (about the travails of a modern gay couple in Italy) and Italy: Love It, or Leave It (about the challenges of living and working under the controversial Silvio Berlusconi) their latest doc takes a decidedly, well, left turn. After the Second World War, Italy was home to the largest Communist (later socialist) party in the West. The party's efforts to enhance social and economic conditions for all Italians earned them remarkable electoral success and influence. Seeking a more equal and progressive Italy, the filmmakers set out to discover why their country has now become so persistently conservative, and what happened to its once proud and vital left-wing sensibilities.