Appunti del passaggio

Maria Iorio, Raphaël Cuomo / Italy, Switzerland / 2016 / International Premiere / 43 min.

synopsis

The 1960s saw a large wave of immigration from Italy to Switzerland, which was infamously accompanied by hurdles thrown up against this new workforce. Meditative static images reveal the places, the landscape, and the border between the countries that are a part of this story. Photographs and an intermezzo consisting of the reading of poems inspired by the diaspora add an emotional element. The notes of a young woman read as voiceover give the documentary a multilayered narrative that tells the story of the collective memory of a group of economic migrants and their working conditions, exploitation, and loss of dignity.

“By critically examining the merging of political power and cinema, as well as various ‘aesthetics of reality’, the project proposes a convergence of past and present to question history through (hi)stories of migration, architecture and cinema.”

biography

Raphaël Cuomo (1977) and Maria Iori (1975) have worked together since their studies in Geneva. They have also taught at the Jan van Eyck Academy in Maastricht. Their work focuses on the basic values of modern society and social systems in the form of states and nations. They critically analyze the connection of political power and cinema. Past joint projects include Südeuropa (2007) and The Interpreter (2009).