In the quarries of Carrara, Italy, men and machines dig Monte Bettogli for marble. Managing, coordinating, and guiding quarrymen and their heavy-duty machines is the chief—“Il Capo”—who uses a language consisting solely of gestures and signs to coordinate this dangerous, noisy operation.

With the grace of an orchestra conductor, a seasoned quarryman commands a fleet of mining excavators in this hypnotic short. Harmonizing the sinuous lines of the male form with the rugged alps of Carrara, Yuri Ancarani and Pietro Savorelli carve a sensuous visual poem from strenuous hard work.