New Swiss film exposes xenophobia as a weapon against the working class

Swiss-Iraqi filmmaker Samir’s new documentary, which premiered in Locarno, shines a light on Italian immigrants in post-war Switzerland. It’s a tale of racism, xenophobia and resilience, and a call to avoid past prejudices. I met Samir for a coffee on the last day of the 77th Locarno Film Festival following the premiere of his new film, The Miraculous Transformation of the Working Class into Foreigners. He is tired, like everyone who attended the ten days of events and meetings in Locarno, but happy. All four screenings of his film sold out and reviews in Swiss Italian and Italian media lavished praise on the film. Every debate on immigration inevitably raises issues surrounding racism and prejudice, and does not always take into account basic socio-economic issues and consequences. In Samir's film these categories all overlap, as suggested in the film title that reads like a thesis statement. And, to some extent, it is one. Racism is a system “I knew that racism is a construction ...