THE ITALIANS

More than half a million Italians live and work in Switzerland, comprising a tenth of the entire population. They are needed in a country whose economy is geared to rely on foreign labour, but at the same time their presence is resented by the Swiss who regard them as intruders. It is an abnormal situation in which the Italians come to be regarded not as people so much as 'a problem'.

This documentary gets behind the bitter prejudices and misconceptions that all Swiss hold to some degree about the Italians, and tries to understand just what life means to the Italian worker in Switzerland.

Gold Medal, Bilbao Festival; Special Mention, Florence Festival.