Dad Eugenio (Scalfari)

Donata: «I was in peace even before. But I did years of analysis, she didn’t. “

Was it difficult to get used to being Scalfari’s daughters?
D: “It was difficult at work, everyone thought of me:” She is here because she is Scalfari’s daughter “, and this has meant that, in my career, I have always been one step behind, without ever crossing a line” .

And: «Being called Scalfari also had its positive sides. You came home from school and Enrico Berlinguer was there for lunch. But at work – I did my mother’s, not my father’s – it is true that we had to do triple to get half. “

If you think of your father, what image comes to your mind?
And: «He who laughs, cheerful. I photographed him a lot, but in front of the lens he never laughs, like every big narcissus he is always careful to make the best expression ».

D: «In the Latvian that tells us absurd invented fables, whose characters have remained in our family lexicon. My passwords are still the names of those characters. ‘

Your father has worked like a madman all his life. Did you miss him?
And: «He used to come home for lunch almost every day. No, we’ve never heard of it. ‘

Have you ever rebelled against its encumbrance?
D: «We didn’t have the classic teenage breakup with parents. Both Enrica and I stayed at home until our respective 28 years. They had to kick their asses to get out. He was a bulky man, but he was also a blanket ».

And: «The hardest thing now is that we have become his blanket. It makes me very nostalgic to think about how it was ».

Does he let himself be covered?
D: «At this point, yes. But sometimes when she gets angry she still silences us. “

Was there anything in the documentary that you disagreed with?
And: «His only concern was that we talk about Serena, his wife, in an appropriate and affectionate way. Pacified. Which has happened. Certainly Serena in the past has weighed a lot on our relationship, it was the contradiction that we lived in the most painful way, especially for my mother. Surely both have suffered a lot, but up to a certain point Serena’s suffering was not my problem ».

Has anyone ever asked you about your suffering for what was going on?
D: «I have never talked about this thing in the house. Neither of us knew the other knew and so we didn’t even talk to each other. We started doing it when dad told us openly. But it never became a topic of conversation. It was just like that. “

And: «I talked to my mother about it, she asked me for help, complicity. However, I have never been able to play this role. I was 40, even 45. But I didn’t have the tools to help her anyway. “

As women, how do you judge those cross relationships?
D: «As a woman I would never have accepted it. That said, I don’t feel I have to forgive anyone, because it was three grown people who chose. And my parents never made us miss a family. “

And: «Mom suffered like a dog, but she never made us weigh it. My parents were fine together, they were husband and wife from all points of view, father and mother for us ».

How is your relationship with Serena now?
And: «When mom died, in 2006, I had some difficulties, but after a couple of years everything was smoothed out. Now my father can’t live a second without her. In his whole life he has never been alone for five minutes: first there was his mother, then Nadia, the girlfriend who stole from Federico Fellini, then my mother, finally Serena ».

D: «Now we are very happy that there is».

Is he a different grandfather than he was a father?
D: «The nephew, Simone, my son, is male and this makes the difference for him. Some time ago he told him something beautiful: “If I could I would give you the facades of the churches.” But the attitude he has as a grandfather is the same as he had as a father ».

It is curious to see a man who, with his newspapers, fought for abortion and divorce, who – you say – pushed you to go to feminist events, at a certain point made you take the course as a typist because you are a woman.
D: «In the small, familiar conception, for him the woman was a woman. He is a man born almost 100 years ago ».

And: «He was also very progressive with respect to our education, but he has always been a male chauvinist and there is no doubt about this. I was able to be a photographer because the expectation of me was not overbearing. If I had been a boy I would never have been able to. ‘

What father was it?
And: «A father who tried not to make his public role weigh, who taught us to overcome anxieties through curiosity and happiness. His teaching is that life is complicated, but it must be lived lightly ».

D: «He gave me a great confidence in myself, although, as long as he was the lion he was, I felt a pinch and thought:“ What am I going to do, a lot… ”. But now, at 60, I can say that she has given me the tools to live life, and a solidity of character ».

He calls death “the queen”, and says he does not fear it. Is this true in your opinion?
And: “Maybe he doesn’t fear it rationally, but deep down he does: he loves life too much not to be afraid of it ending.”

D: «He has always had the anxiety that something would happen to others. He called my mother every two hours to find out if we were still in good health ».

Scalfari, on Sentimental Journey (3D Produzioni with Rai Doc) will pass to the Rome Film Fest (14-24 October) and will be broadcast on Raitre on 23/10 at 5.45 pm.