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A profoundly impactful story of dedication and dignity, Pure Unknown follows an Italian pathologist on a thankless mission to formally identify her country's unnamed dead.
Mostly, these ‘pure unknown’ were people on the fringes of society and migrants trying to reach the shores of Europe – people about whom no-one seems to care.
It is a sobering task, but for Dr. Cristina Cattaneo it has become her life’s work, and for every body that she can identify, there is the chance for dignity in death, a proper burial and a family delivered out of the purgatory of not knowing their loved one’s fate.
Following as she tirelessly fights to put a name to every man, woman and child who has drowned at sea, co-directors Mattia Colombo and Valentina Cicogna have created a powerful, cinematic portrait of undeterrable care, which counters the indifference of European authorities – and found an unforgettable central character in the figure of Dr. Cattaneo.
On Saturday the 27th of January we hosted a post-screening Q&A with co-directors Valentina Cicogna and Mattia Colombo for Italian Doc Season at Bertha DocHouse. Hosted by season curator, Malaika Bova.