Pattini e Acciaio (Skates and Steel)
Pattini e Acciaio (Skates and Steel) is a 64-minute sports documentary made in Italy and directed by Rossella De Venuto. The film explores a real, little-known story in international sport, set in a fishing town in southern Italy.
The documentary focuses on roller hockey, a discipline often on the margins of media attention, and recounts a local team’s unexpected rise. In the 1980s, thanks to a visionary entrepreneur’s initiative, the team succeeded on the international stage and made a decisive contribution to Italy winning two world titles.
The protagonists are the hockey-team athletes, representing a journey of determination, passion and team spirit. The film follows key moments in their sporting careers through training, matches and community life, offering an authentic view of their experience.
The participation of real athletes reinforces the film’s documentary and testimonial dimension as it moves between the atmosphere of provincial sports halls and major international sporting events, producing a vivid, engaging account.
The film’s central message focuses on sport’s transformative power: Pattini e Acciaio speaks of social redemption, collective commitment and the pride of identity that can emerge even in the most peripheral settings when passion meets opportunity.
The project, produced by Maurizio Antonini, is neither a debut film nor an academic development but an independent production completed in September 2023. It had its official premiere in Italy (exact venue and date not specified).
Film Information
Title: Skates and Steel
Original title: Pattini e Acciaio
Director: Rossella De Venuto
Production: Maurizio Antonini
Country: Italy
Language: Italian
Running time: 64 minutes
Genre: Documentary
Sport featured: Roller hockey
Protagonist(s): Local roller-hockey team athletes
Completion date: 1 September 2023
Premiere: Italy, date not specified
Distributor: [Not specified]
Shooting format: 4K, 16:9, colour
Director’s first film: No
Student project: No