The stone steeple of the Alt-Graun church rises from the waters of lake Resia, in the Venosta Valley in South Tyrol. It stands as a lonely, silent witness to the horrible tragedy that befell Graun (Curon) and Reschen (Resia) in 1950, when both villages—with their unique natural and cultural landscape—were submerged by the waters of the newly-built Resia dam and water reservoir.
This documentary film project aims to give a voice to the tragedy’s last contemporary witnesses; those who stayed and those who left. We want to document their lives and fates in order to aid in the remembrance of their lost village, their lost home.
But the film doesn’t look only to the past. It creates a narrative arc between the past and the present. On one hand, the tragic story of the Resia water reservoir’s creation is reconstructed in-depth, based on interviews with witnesses as well as historic film and photographs. On the other hand, the new, younger generation will give their perspective on the current situation.
Through moving cinematic portraits, the filmmakers touch on the theme of “Heimat” (home) and its loss, and document the long-lasting effects of the Resia dam’s construction on past and current generations.