Many corporations have been consciously producing, distributing and selling toxic materials on a large scale, or have exposed their workers to highly toxic substances. Essentially, one can speak of corporate homicide. Only since 1989 and the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, have trans-national regulations made it increasingly harder for industries to operate in this way, forcing closures, illegalising certain substances or processes, or calling for radical changes in their production. At the same time, however, very few corporations have been found guilty or held responsible for the violence and deaths they have caused and many continue to function by simply moving their activities and market outside of European jurisdictions, and more specifically to the Global South.

For his film ‘Breathless’ (2018), filmmaker Daniel Lambo sets off on a passionate quest to find the truth about the deadly asbestos industry, following the deaths of his father and many others from his village Kapelle-op-den-Bos in Flanders, where the factory of Eternit was located, once one of the world’s largest asbestos-producing multinationals. His search takes him, together with Eric Jonckheere, to the Indian village of Kymore where he discovers an active asbestos factory that was once owned by the Belgian Eternit. He hits upon the largest asbestos waste dump in India and unveils a cold-blooded industry still endangering the lives of workers and consumers around the world. The film tells the gripping story of the fight of individuals against the still-booming asbestos industry.

In the exhibition ‘Deadly Affairs’ you can find documentation related to the extensive research for the film.

On 18 April we’ll screen the film ‘Breathless’ (2018), followed by a conversation with Daniel Lambo.

Daniel Lambo is a Belgian film director, film producer and screenwriter. With his socially engaged production company Lambo Films (founded in 2004) he creates films on themes as human rights, social inequality and poverty. His main goals are to raise broad public awareness and to encourage individual action.
www.lambofilms.com

Documentation

Language Dutch