Amedeo Guillet
Elisabetta Castana
2007 - 50 min - Beta digital - Couleur et Noir & Blanc - Italie

All Amedeo Guillet’s life is divided between the Western culture and the Islamic culture. His extraordinary story earned him the nickname of "Italian Lawrence of Arabia". Guillet was of noble birth but he chose an adventurous life. Officer and gentleman in the Abyssian war in 1935, he became a rebel, fighting with his brave and loyal Eritrean askaris against the British troops. Day by day, he became more and more like a native, speaking a perfect Arabic, wearing "futa" and turban, making profession of Islamic faith. After his daring return to Italy, he collaborated with the military intelligence service. When the World War II ended, he worked as an ambassador in many countries of the Middle East. Now that he is 97, besides his five war scars and his 27 medals for military valour, the decoration he is prouder of is a tattoo that an old Eritrean chieftain made near his heart as an indelible sign of belonging to his tribe.