Polvere, il grande processo dell’amianto
Polvere, il grande processo dell’amianto
a documentary film by Niccolò Bruna and Andrea Pranstraller
Italy/Switzerland/Belgium 2011, 85’, o.v. Italian/French, sub. French
Festivals & Prizes
Italy, Brazil, France, Romania, Costa Rica, Spain, Argentina, USA: Cinemambiente Environmental Film Festival – Torino, Italy, 2011, Legambiente Special Mention
Second Prize of the jury Sub-Ti Euganea Film Festival – Monselice (PD), Italy, 2011, Parco Colli Euganei International Festival of Environmental report Award
Arenzano (GE), Italy, Special Mention of the Jury, Special mention of the Jury Unifidra, Special Mention of Green Jury
1 Nomination at David of Donatello, 2012
Synopsis:
For years, in Europe, asbestos has been associated with danger, sickness and death. Why then, is 70% of the world’s population still being exposed to this mortal fibre? The production of asbestos in the world has again started to grow, thanks in large part to the enormous consumption by countries in rapid development such as India, China and Russia. The lobby of exporting countries, lead by Canada (which exports to developing countries but does not use it itself), is extremely powerful and acts on the international scene to influence the politics of the individual countries.
Globally, 100,000 people still die each year at the hands of this killer fibre. But notwithstanding asbestos is a business which few are willing to abandon. This international reality of silent catastrophe is the ever present protagonist in this documentary film.
The story takes place during the first months of the hearings in the criminal trial brought against the major international ‘patrons’ of asbestos, underway in Turin, Italy. The charges against the Belgian Baron De Marchienne and the Swiss billionaire Schmidheiny are heavy: voluntary manslaughter and willfully neglecting safety precautions and regulations in the workplace.