Film
Oma e chimica
Rivalta (pop. 20,000), a town like many in the Turin metropolitan area, is unique for the 40-year battle it waged against the stench from two oil and solvent regenerating plants (OMA and Chimica) that operated without adequate environmental controls and despite protests by the local citizenry. What ultimately put an end to the nuisance was an Internal Revenue Service order to close the factories in 2000 because of unpaid municipal property taxes. The actor Beppe Rosso, drawing on modern literary classics like Suskind’s bestseller Perfume: the Story of a Murder and Calvino’s Invisible Cities, constructs an intriguing series of olfactory impressions that enhance Pastore’s cinematographic work.
Il regista / The Director
Luca Pastore (Turin, 1961) founded the production company Legovideo in 1983. Together with business partner Alessandro Cocito (Cocito&Pastore) he has worked on numerous TV video productions, especially for RAI Tre (Intervalli Italiani ed Europei). He has also directed numerous documentaries and TV productions (RAI Uno, RAI Due, RAI Tre; Telepiù; Arte-ZDF; Planet; RAISAT; Swiss TV; La7 MTV; Allmusic; Sky; MaoriTV New Zealand); his works have been screened at major documentary film festivals; his work also includes commercials, video magazines, musical clips, concert visuals, TV station idents and video installations for museums. He wrote for the Manifesto music column from 1994 to 1997. His works include: Intervalli Italiani ed Europei (1989, 1992), Come fossili cristallizzati nel tempo (2002), Io arrivo da Giove (2001), I dischi del sole(2004).
“A ‘short’ yet emblematic story about two chemicals firms that began operation when environmental awareness and environmental impact were either not contemplated or simply ignored in the interest of “development”. At the battle’s end, the factories lie still. The difficult job now is to take account of clean-up costs (to local taxpayers) and profits (to plant owners), while sorting out priorities between the cost to protect the environment and public health, conform with regulations and defend local jobs and the cost of eliminating hazardous industrial waste.”
Luca Pastore
Edizione 2007
CONCORSO DOCUMENTARI ITALIANI
DOCUMENTARIO
Italia, 2007, 65'
REGIA/DIRECTOR
Luca Pastore
TAGS:
Inquinamento/Pollution, Salute/Health, Piemonte
