A documentary ten years on. Il Polline e la ruggine: memory, work and the deindustrialization of Sesto San Giovanni

Abstract

Il polline e la ruggine is a low-budget documentary, made between 2015 and 2016 and available online on the Fondazione Isec YouTube channel. It deals with industrial closures in Sesto San Giovanni and their consequences from the 1990s onwards, focusing on the former Falck steel plants. The project, initiated in 2013 with Fondazione Isec and supported by regional funding in 2014, was led by Sara Zanisi and Sara Roncaglia. It explored deindustrialization not only as a loss of industrial production but also as a phenomenon with social, political, and cultural implications.

The documentary uses oral sources collected through interviews to build an archive documenting the local impact of global deindustrialization. Sesto San Giovanni, once a major industrial hub, is now characterized by disused industrial heritage and the need for redevelopment, with particular focus on the Falck areas, the largest ex-industrial site in Europe undergoing redevelopment.

The project focused on the memory of industrial work, urban transformations, and the narratives of the people involved. It aims to highlight the complexity and long-term implications of deindustrialization, not only in economic terms but also in the cultural and social identity of the city.