Silence, We Die, a shocking documentary about an “ecocide” in Sicily

François-Xavier Destors and Alfonso Pinto give voice to residents, wounded in their flesh or powerless in the face of the tragedy affecting their loved ones, of a region that has seen the number of cancers explode. “Toxicily”, a cry of alarm.

“Franco Giacinto, Morfino Rita, D’Amico Antonio, Cruciano Francesco….”, The priest Don Palmiro lists the names, one after the other, to honor their memory. Names of people who died of cancer or a malformation, young and old, mostly men but also newborns. This is followed by poignant testimonies from residents who themselves suffer from cancer or their loved ones. François-Xavier Destors’ camera focuses on these broken but resilient lives. In theaters, September 18.

We are in Sicily, north of Syracuse, in landscapes of great beauty. This is where one of the largest petrochemical complexes in Europe has been located since the end of the 1940s. At the time, this establishment represented a significant social and economic advance. The workers were well paid. The downside: no ecological standards before the end of the 1980s. The industry dumped its waste into the sea or buried it in nature. Result: entire areas forbidden to humans and animals. Not to mention the diseases linked to the polluted environment.

“There is a first visual shock: when you leave beautiful Syracuse, it is impossible to miss this gigantic industrial zone that runs along the coast. Those who dare to stop there face a second shock, olfactory this time, because it quickly becomes unbreathable. Most of the people you meet have had one or more cancers, the cemeteries are abnormally full of young people and children,” ” testifies the director François-Xavier Destors. On screen, a father and his son testify. The second is proud to take his father’s place at the factory. The father suffers from two tumors. This father who took the factory with him to his home because of the smell of hydrocarbons stuck to his skin.“Workers are not reaching retirement age,” a resident is alarmed.

The directors were met with a wall of silence.The scale of the problem is glaring, obvious, but everyone looks the other way or accepts it with a kind of resignation,” observes François-Xavier Destors. It took time and patience.”It was almost impossible to find people with pathologies willing to talk. On a political and economic level, the mafia has undoubtedly played a role in industrial development, but beyond the Sicilian omerta, I think the main problem remains blackmail over employment,” laments Alfonso Pinto, author.

The miracle turned into a nightmare. A few residents decided to take up the fight against the polluters.People have the choice between cancer or hunger,” says one of them. As the main provider of jobs, the petrochemical industry benefits from a certain indulgence.

Toxicly gives a voice to those who are deprived of it. The documentary has the merit of highlighting a “ecocide”, according to the authors’ expression, but conceals two weaknesses: the absence of figures and that of the word of industrialists and/or political and health authorities. “When you meet specialists, you feel that they are a little overwhelmed for many reasons, some linked to the mafia and politics. This is also why an investigative film was not really possible. If we wanted to highlight the citizens, it is above all because they are the only sentinels of this territory”, explain François-Xavier Destors. Toxicly, a cry of alarm.

Form

Title : Toxicly

Duration : 1h18

Language: Italian with French subtitles

Author-director: François-Xavier Destors

Author : Alfonso Pinto

Theatrical release: September 18

Synopsis: In Sicily, north of Syracuse, one of the largest petrochemical complexes in Europe has been poisoning the environment and people for 70 years. “It is better to die of cancer than to die of hunger,” we hear on the beach bordering the refinery. In a context of omerta and resignation, the film gives voice to those who fight and survive in the heart of a territory sacrificed on the altar of progress and globalization.