In the award-winning documentary film Freeing Silvia Baraldini, the life and political activism of one woman are commemorated. Silvia Baraldini, a young Italian immigrant to America moved to support causes of social injustice in her new homeland, was sentenced to 43 years in prison for her participation in liberating another political prisoner, Black Panther leader Assata Shakur. The year was 1982, a time when political activism seemed to flounder under an administration that came off ruthless in its pursuit of increasingly militant antiwar, anti-racist organizations and, at the same time, seemingly oblivious to the continuing plight of minority populations within our borders and covertly aggressive toward populations outside our borders: the very people activists sought to support.
In this climate, when hundreds of other politically minded people folded back into the comforts of American society, Baraldini deepened her commitment to revolutionary struggle. She became the national leader of the May 19th Communist Organization, a radical group of white North Americans and key element in a fragile alliance of revolutionaries – black, white and Puerto Rican – who united to fight for what they viewed as true equality and justice for all. The film follows her incarceration at multiple facilities in the United States and documents the progression of efforts tediously accomplished here and in Italy to address both her treatment as a prisoner and her eventual release. It is the passionate and controversial story of a human being – her commitments, sacrifices and attempts at self-preservation – as much as it is about the society in which she lived. Baraldini’s legacy embodies the enduring human spirit within the resistance movements.
Local filmmakers Margo Pelletier and Lisa Thomas spent eight years making the documentary. After submitting it to numerous festivals in hopes of finding a major distribution backer, they changed gears to self-distribute, and recently held its East Coast premiere at Catskill Community Theatre, where Pelletier says that the film was well-received. She appreciates the generosity that upstate audiences have extended to the project.
Before becoming a filmmaker, Pelletier was an artist and political activist who worked with Silvia Baraldini in the early 1980s, experiencing firsthand what it meant to be a political prisoner when she served a six-month prison sentence for her participation in an action against the apartheid government of South Africa. Acknowledging how overwhelmed we are with issues of global significance, against which many of us feel helpless and ineffectual, and with the details of personal survival, Pelletier maintains the importance of being aware – of our history, our government and the human condition.
She speaks of the uniquely intense quality of being required to dedicate one’s life to fight for human rights and justice: “People like Silvia Baraldini are extremely unusual people. They have a certain disposition: They cannot accept injustice and carry on with their lives. It truly wears on them as human beings. Even when they are put in prison, they continue to act…They get into the prison system, find out what that community needs, continue teaching.” Having returned to the study and practice of art after her own release from incarceration, Pelletier says, “You could call me a political artist or filmmaker…I know in my heart that I could not have sustained that kind of a lifestyle. And although there’s a pervasive feeling of helplessness amongst the rest of us, it really isn’t true. There’s a role for all of us.”
Thin Edge Films, owned by Pelletier and Thomas, is a film and video Production Company located in Catskill. Post-production of Freeing Silvia Baraldini was done with the help of former Hudson composer and editor Gerald von Stoddard and fellow filmmaker Joy Reed of Poughkeepsie.
Freeing Silvia Baraldini will be screened at the Rosendale Theatre at 408 Main Street in Rosendale on Sunday, January 24 at 2:30 p.m. There will be a question-and-answer session with Pelletier and Thomas after the screening, followed by a wine and cheese reception. The event will cost $10 and is being sponsored by the Haitian People’s Support Project and the Martin Luther King Day Planning Committee. Phone numbers for the theatre are (845) 658-8989 or (845) 943-8633. For more information about this film or to schedule an interview with the filmmakers, contact Pelletier or Thomas at (518) 943-4871, (917) 757-8075 or thinedgefilms@gmail.com.