The Citizen’s Lab 2.0: Poetic Justice

The Citizen’s Lab, organized in collaboration with the Bolzano Film Festival Bozen (BFFB), continues its journey of exchanges and hybridizations between languages and practices. This year’s Lab features a pilot experiment of a new section of the BFFB: “Poetic Justice” curated by Prof. Emanuela Fronza (University of Bologna) in collaboration with the research cluster “Law, Economy and Institution” of the Faculty of Economics and Management of the University of Bolzano’ and with the Euregio Platform on Human Dignity and Human Rights (EUPHUR).

“Poetic Justice” examines the complex and fascinating relationship between films and justice, on the assumption that films and images are not only tools for representing law and justice but also powerful vehicles for spreading legal culture in society. Through visual language, cinema offers a suggestive and effective access to the many faces of law and justice, allowing us to identify its actors – judges, defendants, lawyers, victims, witnesses, law enforcement – and to grasp the power dynamics at play. At the same time, cinema invites reflection on the existence and violation of rights, and on the mechanisms of protection and access to justice, such as class actions. The relationship between cinema and justice assumes an even more crucial role in the era of the spectacularization and mediatization of law, where the collective imagination is often shaped more by its cinematic representation than by actual practice.

“Poetic Justice” will host discussions and film screenings aimed at creating a platform for public dialogue and exchange.