January 2010, Rosarno, Calabria. The immigrants' demonstrations of anger expose the conditions of degradation and injustice in which thousands of African laborers live every day, exploited by an economy strongly influenced by the mafia power of the 'Ndrangheta. For a moment Italy notices them, is afraid of them, reacts violently, and in a few hours Rosarno is "evicted" and the problem "solved". But the faces and stories of the protagonists of the Rosarno clashes say that this is not the case. "Il sangue verde tells a piece of this hell, in this time. Leaving unauthorized travelers the power of the word and memory. In the belief that in their courage and in their hands lies the hope of redemption of the lands from which they left and ultimately also of those in which they arrived". (Andrea Segre)
Andrea Segre: Having a PhD in communication sociology at the University of Bologna behind him, Andrea Segre has established himself as one of the most sensitive and rigorous documentarians on the Italian cinema scene. He has been studying and reporting on migrations towards Europe and the contradictions of the developed world for several years: he wrote and directed Marghera Canale Nord (2003) selected at the Venice Film Festival, Che cosa manca (2006), La mal’ombra (2007) awarded at the Turin Film Festival, A sud di Lampedusa (2007) on the expulsions of African migrants in the Ténéré desert. It is dedicated to the same theme Come un uomo sulla Terra (2008), a work awarded in numerous Italian festivals and nominated for the David as best documentary. In 2009 he filmed Magari le cose cambiano, a journey into the heart of modern Roman villages, where thousands of Italian and foreign citizens are daily denied the right to dignity; 2010 was Il sangue verde, a story of great intensity about the foreign community of Rosarno. Io sono Li, produced by Marco Paolini's Jole film and presented with great success at the latest Venice Film Festival, represents his debut in fiction cinema.