Venice - Espèces d'ordures - Blog

Arnaud Bouquet

Director, screenwriter and cinematographer.

Published on 28 November |Last updated on 19 December

The series ''Espèces d'ordures'' takes us to Venice in the middle of winter. And it's very cold. We weren't expecting that, lulled by stereotypes of an Italy where it's nice to stay in the shade. We forget that the north - close to the Alps - knows the rigorous months of January and February for the chilly. Especially since our shoot is mainly on the famous canals where we travel in all weather, the humidity penetrating us to the bone. But we will not complain anymore, because the shooting we are doing allows us to warm up in the heart and soul of the city's inhabitants.

dame qui se débarrasse de ses déchets à Venise

Between Human Warmth and Island Challenges

Venetians are indeed very warm, with incredible hospitality and contagious sympathy. This is surprising considering the number of tourists who invade Venice every year: at peak times, there are 100,000 visitors a day, double the population of the historic city center which only counts 50,000 inhabitants. These inhabitants are increasingly forced to flee the islands for the mainland, for several reasons, including convenience and health. It is indeed very difficult to live in a city where it is impossible to use cars. This is especially true for the management of household waste. The inhabitants of Venice have to walk to floating collection points to dispose of their waste.

The Venetian Garbage Collectors: A Fellini-Style Lesson in Civility

But in recent years, the garbage collectors have come to them in a folkloric form to our eyes, in a sequence that one would think taken from a Federico Fellini film. Pushing carts equipped with wheels with a well-oiled mechanism, the city's garbage collectors circulate from door to door, warning the inhabitants with a cry: "Spazzino!" ("Garbage collector!") The Venetians then have only to put their bags in the street, some people whose mobility is reduced do not hesitate to slide their garbage out the window with a thread or rope. The garbage collector with whom we make the morning tour for the shoot is called Roberta, and she has been doing this job for a long time now. She knows the names of all the citizens of the streets in her charge. And they all return the favor, greeting and calling her by her first name in return: "Good morning Roberta! Thank you, Roberta! Ciao Roberta!" A lesson in civility that moves us, especially when Roberta tells us that many inhabitants presented themselves at the ceremony on her wedding day to congratulate her! It can't be invented.

Homme qui balaie la Place Saint-Marc à Venise

The Guardians of Cleanliness

We then continued our filming, completely captivated, to meet the street sweepers of St. Mark's Square, the tourist heart of the city. These men who get up before the sun tell us that they are proud to make their city clean for the visitors, as if it were a matter of honor. It must be said that for a long time, before the municipality was forced to take matters into its own hands, Venice was subject to the law of rats and seagulls who ripped open garbage bags and spread smelly feasts stolen from public trash cans everywhere. But this era is now only a distant memory.

From Prison to Creation: Prisoners Transform Banners into Ethical Treasures

We end this shoot in an equally emotional way, by going into the prison of the city. Indeed, we meet prisoners who participate in a second chance workshop: they recover the PVC banners used by the many museums of the city to announce their exhibitions, in order to transform them into bags, wallets, and wallets. There is even a shop where you can buy these products made of non-recyclable waste, and bearing the brand "Malefatte" (a pun meaning both "badly done" and "misdemeanor"). A city renowned for its beauty, but also - we tell you - a city of civic duty and humanity.