Our first event of the season will focus on the social and environmental consequences of the asbestos industry in Switzerland. Asbestos, a carcinogenic building material, has caused serious health problems for factory workers over decades. Among the environmental impacts, asbestos pollutes air, water and soil. The mining of asbestos contributes to the destruction of natural habitats, soil erosion, the release of toxic fibers, and groundwater pollution.

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For this screening, we invited Swiss-Swedish filmmaker and visual anthropologist Anna Joos, who has spent over four years researching Switzerland's asbestos history. We will present two of her short films, Melancholic Diasporas and Niederurnen. Both works originate from an intimate family story and from a care-centered perspective expanding on a broader social drama concerning Italian asbestos workers seeking for justice.

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This event also supports Joos’s latest project, ARIA POVERA, an exhibition that will be dedicated to the Swiss asbestos legacy. The exhibition will present victims’ stories, delving into statistics, full-length testimonies from retired Italian factory workers, and lawyer’s statements, all contributing to an open dialogue rooted in the heart of the Swiss asbestos industry: Glarus.

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NIEDERURNEN, GL (MALO VENTO) - (2025, 18’)

In a forgotten valley of Switzerland, an evil wind haunts the daily lives of former Italian asbestos factory workers, who still breathe its invisible fibers.

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MELANCHOLIC DIASPORAS - (2022, 9')

Ghosts of a family archive provoke an intimate conversation on memory, language and diaspora.