Arrakis
Directed by
Arrakis is a poetic documentary-tribute to the places and victims of industrial progress in Italy. Scenes of closed factories provide the backdrop to the personal story of Silvestro Capelli, former worker at the Breda Foundry, Sesto San Giovanni, who underwent a laryngectomy for a tumor caused by asbestos exposure. Like many others, he is fighting a social and legal battle with simple citizens on the one side and the institutions on the other. Capelli said, 'Everyone knew but no one spoke out. The unions knew, the management knew, the local health board knew: everyone knew except the workers.'
«Arrakis was not intended as an enquiry film about asbestos or a documentary about industrial archaeology. Instead, the intent was to create, according to the criteria of a poetic style in documentary filmmaking, a tribute to the victims of progress and to the places that symbolize it. The film, which gives voice to forgotten people and places, was released free on the internet on 12 June 2008 through the collective action of 50 Italian blogs that allowed it to be viewed as a premier showing. Arrakis is simply a small grassroots effort».
Pollution
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the Creative Europe Media Program. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.