Synopsis
Welcome to Erto, a village that was doomed to disappear forever, but extraordinarily still carries on living after 50 years, just 100 km from Venice, on the edge of the Dolomites.
In Italy in the 1950’s, a powerful private company called SADE decides to build the tallest dam in the world in order to produce electricity in the Piave Valley, in the Dolomites. A bright future seems to be in front of Erto. But there was a problem: the dam shouldn’t have been built there. The mountain was far too fragile. On the night of 9th October 1963, a massive piece of the Mount Toc collapsed into the lake. It created a giant wave that totally wiped out several villages and one town, killing more than 2000 people.
Opposite the dam, protected by a corner of the mountain, miraculously one village survived: Erto. Luciano was 4 years old at the time of the tragedy. 50 years later, he’s the Mayor of Erto, a village that exists nearly without existing, made of abandoned houses and derelict alleys. Luciano has a dream: rescuing his village, and the 50th anniversary of the tragedy in 2013 is his last chance.
The dramaturgical arch of Ballad of a Ghost Town will end beyond the 50th anniversary: will all the challenging hopes about the big celebration be fulfilled or Erto will have to accept its slow disappearance as a destiny?
