Sconosciuti puri

Every night nameless bodies land in Dr. Cristina Cattaneo’s autopsy room. She calls them "pure unknown". The "pure unknown" belong to the fringes of society. They are homeless, prostitutes, runaway teenagers. Lately, they have mostly been migrants, rejected by the Mediterranean Sea onto the shores of Italy. If all rights belong to the living, nothing is left to the dead. So what happens when the dead have lost their identity? In the face of this growing multitude, no one seems concerned about their right to dignity. No one but Cristina.

"The act of burial is a primal human ritual that delimits life from death. But what happens to the corpses of anonymous people? Every night, nameless bodies arrive in an autopsy room in Milan. They are called the "pure unknown". The "pure unknown" belong to the margins of society; they might be homeless, sex workers or runaway teenagers. Lately, they have mostly been migrants, thrown up by the Mediterranean Sea onto the shores of Italy. Having been denied the possibility of a better life, no one now seems to care about their right to a dignified death. No one except Dr. Cristina Cattaneo who, from the first forensic anthropology laboratory in Italy, has been bravely and determinedly fighting for their cause, working night and day to return names to these unidentified bodies and human remains. Filmmakers Valentina Cicogna and Mattia Colombo closely follow this daring and captivating character in her ceaseless struggle, inviting us to reflect on a number of urgent questions about migration to which Europe, tragically, seems unable to respond."
(Violeta Bava - Visions du Réel)

Ogni notte nella sala autoptica della dottoressa Cristina Cattaneo arrivano corpi senza nome. Lei li chiama "sconosciuti puri". Gli "sconosciuti puri" appartengono ai margini della società. Sono senzatetto, prostitute, adolescenti in fuga. Negli ultimi soprattutto migranti, naufraghi del Mar Mediterraneo. Se tutti i diritti appartengono ai vivi, nulla è lasciato ai morti. E cosa succede quando i morti hanno perso la loro identità? Di fronte a questa moltitudine crescente, nessuno sembra preoccuparsi del loro diritto alla dignità. Nessuno tranne Cristina.