Documentary 'L'ultima spiaggia' Captures Gender-Segregated Beach Near Trieste

Thanos Anastopoulos and Davide Del Degan have documented Pedocin, a public beach near Trieste, Italy, where men and women are still separated by a wall. Their film 'L'ultima spiaggia' (The Last Beach) observes the community over a full year, capturing daily life on this pebble strip. The directors studied human behavior like entomologists, eventually becoming invisible to the subjects. The film features elderly people feeding cats, chatting, sunbathing, and passing time with songs and thoughts of life and death. A standout scene shows a made-up old woman dancing at twilight, embodying a Pirandellian humor and love of life. The documentary premiered at Cannes in special screenings, praised for its unclassifiable genre. The directors discussed the project at the Italian Pavilion.