I made this video for a group show that took place in Egypt. I had never been to Egypt but many people from
that country emigrated to mine and I was aware of their plight by having taught Italian to new immigrants.
I was also aware of the deep-seated fear of the Other, the Stranger, that was creating the conditions for a resurgence of racism in Italian society. Anxiety is all too easily projected onto the figure of the foreigner, as the results of Italian elections clearly show.
In this video I intended to debunk the myth that underpins such fear: here the foreign immigrants are shown to be in a dangerous and unsafe environment, whereas locals are cocooned in their cars. The same scene is shot alternately from the inside and outside of a car, as its windscreen gets covered with soap and cleaned by Egyptian immigrants in Milan.
When shooting from the viewpoint of the driver the audio is off, he cannot hear the noise of traffic, nor see it, as this sight is obstructed by soap on the windscreen, he feels safe and protected in the car.
A few seconds later the camera moves behind the person leaning against the car and cleaning the windscreen. The audio is now on and amplifies the traffic noise, the camera angle shows the dangerous conditions in which immigrant men and children earn a living in the streets of Milan.
The alternate shots are dynamically juxtaposed during the editing, creating a dramatic effect.
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