Marielle Franco, Sylvia Rivera, Bell Hooks. It's not a coincidence that these are the names of special shelters in Bologna.
The first European project of its kind. Casa Marielle Franco and the others are shelters for LGBTQIA+ migrants who are victims of discrimination. It was born in 2019 on the initiative of Marcella di Folco, the first trans in the world to hold a political office and the MIT, the Trans Identity Movement.
Thanks to this project, people find themselves living and fighting together, defeating the loneliness that pervades their lives, having abandoned their place of birth and their family.
We entered Marielle Franco’s house in November 2023. We met Arianna, Lana and Melina. Three South American transsexual women. Since that day, we have built a strong bond with them. Arianna is Colombian. Her father kicked her out of the house the night he saw her dressed as a girl. She recalls a life always on the run. Lana lived without having an ID for 17 years. Melina dreams of living in Northern Europe, Italy was not the place she had imagined.
All stories that come together in the search for a balance made of joy, tenacity, and above all, the need for fun and community, because the fight for human rights is also a fight for dignity and happiness.
In 2024 in Italy, we witnessed 149 cases of violence or discrimination against LGBTQI+ people, one every two days. In a European context characterized by growing consensus towards conservative parties and anti-immigration policies, we are still far from the idea that a trans person can choose their own job, freely live their sexuality and find a room for themselves.
Casa Marielle Franco e le altre is also an audio documentary produced for the program Tresoldi on Rai Radio Tre that can be listened here: https://www.raiplaysound.it/playlist/casamariellefrancoelealtre
