Aldo Vidali was born in Ixelles, Belgium, and educated in Rome, Italy. He and his family joined the Resistance Movement against Fascist and Nazi forces during World War II. When he was only 13 years old, he was captured by the Nazis during the Fosse Ardeatine Nazi drag net in Rome, but released shortly after because of his age. At the time his family members were sheltering several Jewish refugees in their apartment to prevent their deportation to death camps in Germany. Soon after the war the family moved to Brazil, but to this day Aldo has never forgotten the ugly face of tyranny and is an adamant defender of the Bill of Rights. At 18 (1949) Aldo explored the tropical wilderness of the Brazilian interior selling Coleman Lamps & Stoves to primitive villages as a way to earn college tuition. He came to the United States to study geology at the Colorado School of Mines in 1950. During the early 50's, Aldo prospected in the Mexican states of Sonora and Durango. After selling his interest in his Mexican mineral discoveries (Plomo Y Plata de Mexico and Exona) to ALCOA, Aldo returned to Europe to do documentary film work.
This period was rich in experiences and included a wide range of personalities: from members of the Houston Petroleum Club, to world-class directors like Federico Fellini. Aldo collaborated with Federico Fellini on the project titled The Strange Voyage of Mr. Mastorna and learned directing and cinema acting during the Fellini creations of 8-1/2 and Boccaccio 70. He had a brief professional relationship with Luchino Visconti. Aldo also dealt with government and entertainment industry VIPs such as President Johnson, Jack Val
His documentary works originated a new genre, superimposing fiction on real-life documentary backgrounds. Straw Hat and the Crown, shown on the Italian R.A.I. Television Network, received recognition (also from the Vatican) for its subtle moral theme set off by contrasting a fairy tale on a background of real life events.
Back in the U.S. in 1965, Aldo wrote and directed Sunset at Dawn, a predictive environmental film essay on the worsening ecological crisis, followed by Trail to the Stars, a film view of the NASA space program contrasted with America's pioneering past. These were followed by a series of minor commercial works.
In 1978 Aldo interrupted boat building to participate in the environmental-political campaign in Kauai, Hawaii, to save the island's pristine shorelines at Nukoli'i from yet another tourist development. The campaign, including the election of environmentalist Joanne Yukimura to the County Council, was successful. Two years later, however, to the dismay of many, massive Japanese real estate interests were able to oppose the public will and purchase Nukuli'i. To the public's astonishment, an exceptionally tasteless tourist development devastated that magnificent Hawaiian natural setting beyond recognition.
During this period, the environmental abuse promoted by Republican Interior Secretary James Watt, who opened vast sections of the Federal lands to exploitation, shocked Aldo's deep concern for wilderness preservation. He rushed to Alaska with a stratagem to foil James Watt's plan of opening oil exploration in the magnificent Denali, one of Alaska’s most spectacular regions. The Watt Administration had assumed that small entrepreneurs could not afford to drill in the Arctic, thus leaving the course clear for major players. Vidali formed ALCOR (Alaska Capital Corporation) and leased thousands of acres of federal oil lands in that beautiful wilderness. ALCOR deliberately proceeded to subdivide the leases into impractical 40 acre parcels, which would oblige major oil companies to buy out each and every one from far too many owners before they could move in and drill. One single holdout lease could stall exploration for years.
Aldo hired and trained agents to successfully distribute tiny oil lease parcels across the nation. This maneuver caught the oil industry by surprise, and by the time they pressed the government to impose a minimum parcel size of 2,500 acres, it was too late. Big Oil tried to make the law retroactive. Aldo blocked that illegal attempt by notifying all leaseholders to demand their rights against this undemocratic scheme of Big Oil. This tactic was successful, and thus prevented major exploitation of the Denali for ten years.
This adventurous chapter of their lives is being written as a book and will include the family's dramatic Hurricane Ima episode in the Society Islands, as well as their narrow escape from an attack on the high seas by a Korean fishing vessel.
After witnessing firsthand the over fishing, coral reef destruction, and trash a thousand miles from land -- after the shock of recognizing 200 miles offshore the smell of clear-cut logging from America's Northwest forests -- after observing piles of giant logs chained on container ship decks headed east from Port Angeles -- the Vidalis ended their stay in Puget Sound, repelled by the obstinate devastation of one of the world's most majestic forested regions on the Olympic Peninsula. In 1987 they sailed down the West Coast and landed in San Diego, California, determined to work to preserve the remaining natural resources of the Golden State. The discovery of Al Gore's comprehensive ecological program outlined in Earth in the Balance provided inspiration for their support of the Vice President .Viktoria and Aldo were instrumental in the successful passage of San Diego County's Forest Conservation Initiative in 1993. They contributed creative writing and actively worked for Cleveland National Forest preservation.
Mr. Vidali has completed the educational/ political documentary DEFLATING THE ELEPHANT BY FRAMING THE DISCUSSION, an invaluable learning tool for progressives. He is currently in pre-production of a documentary titled, A NEW WORLD IS BORN, that shines the light of truth on the Latin American awakening to social and economic justice and liberation from the neo-libertinism of international corporate neo-colonialism. The film focuses on the struggle of many nations against the abuses by American militarist imperial oppression, particularly the rise of a true democracy propelled by the Bolivarian revolution in Venezuela under the inspired social democratic leadership of Hugo Chavez. Reviving the motion picture work developed under Federico Fellini's guidance, Aldo Vidali is now teaching and preparing productions dedicated to the restoration and defense of participatory democracy, the Bill of Rights, open denunciation of the evil neo-fascist "Patriot" Act, and all neo-con schemes against America. Aldo Vidali currently lives with his wife on California's Central Coast. He volunteers as Chairman of UNECO, in which his two sons are also actively engaged. He speaks English, Italian, Spanish, French, and Portuguese, and is a public lecturer. My Pledge to Defend Liberty & the Environment
Contact Information: aldo@uneco.org © 2007, Aldo Vidali. |
