Many believe that the art stashed within the Geneva Freeport’s walls – reportedly including around a thousand pieces by Picasso – would make it one of the world’s largest and most exquisite museums… if the work was on display. Instead, masterworks sit unseen and untouched in high-security vaults, alongside archaeological treasures, gold bars, diamonds, weapons and rare vintage wines – their owners waiting for them to appreciate in value, or, in less savoury cases, to hide them for a time. Because the freeport is exempt from import taxes or duties, and operates under the famous secrecy of Switzerland’s banking system, it is thought to be a hotbed of black market activity (although in 2016 the Swiss government took new measures to crack down on illegal freeport holdings). National Disintegrations contrasts the mysterious inner life of the Geneva Freeport – where untold billions in riches come and go with little regulation – with scenes of a nearby complex, where asylum seekers are subjected to endless waiting and bureaucracy. What does this disparity in freedom say about Swiss society and the global movement of people and goods?
videoChildhood and adolescence
A neglected Dominican sugar town, as seen through the eyes of a 12-year-old local
11 minutes
videoDemography and migration
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30 minutes
videoThinkers and theories
The prison abolitionist who dares to envision a world without ‘unfreedoms’
16 minutes
videoEconomics
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videoSocial psychology
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videoHuman rights and justice
Surreal, dazzling visuals form an Iranian expat’s tribute to defiance back home
10 minutes
videoEngineering
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videoFairness and equality
There’s a dirty side to clean energy in the metal-rich mountains of South Africa
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videoFairness and equality
‘To my old master’ – a freed slave answers the request to return to his old plantation
7 minutes