The Last Victory

Filmmaker John Appel infiltrated into the Italian city of Siena during the preparations for the annual Palio. This spectacular horse race has been held on the famous round square since the Middle Ages. Little has changed since then: for ninety seconds, ten jockeys race around the square without a saddle and with contempt for death, cheered on by thousands of squeezed together and heated spectators. In the alleys of the different quarters that fiercely compete with each other, people intently follow the race on television. They want their own quarter to win, with a horse that has been selected by drawing lots. In Civetta, the quarter that has not won a Palio since 1979, Appel closely followed some protagonists, the feverish preparations and the confidential whispering, topped of course by the overwhelming race itself on the square, as if the Middle Ages are not over.