Furio Jesi - Man from Utopia

Directed by Claudia Martino

This documentary explores the life and intellectual works of Italian long forgotten mythologist Furio Jesi. His extraordinary life-journey as an infant prodigy, a young archaeologist who dropped out of high school at 16 to travel around the Mediterranean, studying the myths of ancient cultures. During the ’60s he was involved in the communist uprisings in Italy while working as a freelance encyclopedist. He accepted a job at the University of Palermo, and he was the last professor appointed without any degree. His short life left a legacy of wonder in all those who met him. The movie explores also some of his outstanding philosophical concepts such as the “mythological machine” or the “wordless ideas”.