1936, in the aftermath of the Ethiopian occupation by Fascist Italy, under the incredulous gaze of the inhabitants of the small town in the Italian province Abraham Imirrù, an ethiopian prince and guerrila fighter is being held prisoner in the local Podesta garden's aviary. But for little Emilio, local recently force enlisted and reality-dissociated Balilla, he is Sandokan, the literal Salgari's character ...and he will be his hero.

Negotiating Amnesia is an essay film based on research conducted at the Alinari Archive and the National Library in Florence. It focuses on the Ethiopian War of 1935-36 and the legacy of the fascist, imperial drive in Italy. Through interviews, archival images and the analysis of high-school textbooks employed in Italy since 1946, the film shifts through different historical and personal anecdotes, modes and technologies of representation.