The Centre d’Art Contemporain Genève is happy to present Pawn Street (2016, Switzerland, Italy, France, 85 min) the first feature film directed by Irene Dionisio.

Pawn Street tells three interlinked stories that span the social classes of Torino; from Sandra, a trans looking to escape her past, to Michele, an honest porter trying to make ends meet, to Stefano, a novice pawnbroker struggling with the (a)moral boundaries of his new job.

The film came about following Irene Dionisio’s in-depth study of a pawnshop in her hometown of Turin and after realizing that, due to privacy and security reasons, she could never shoot a documentary about it. Nevertheless, she selected three true stories that she came across during her research and began to develop the script for the film.

Irene Dionisio (1986, Turin, IT) is an Italian director and visual artist. She is the director of the Torino Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. She graduated in History of Philosophy and has worked as director and author with many national and international production companies. Since 2010 she’s involved in social and cultural projects related to political issues such as integration and gender issues. Her artistic production includes video installations and documentaries, such as Shores. In the safe northern sun (Sponde. Nel sicuro sole del nord, 2015) and The factory is full (La fabbrica è piena. Tragicommedia in otto atti, 2011). Pawn Street is her first feature film. It premiered at the Film Critics’ Week of the Venice Film Festival.