Materia Oscura tells the story of a place of war in times of peace. The location for the film is the experimental firing range at Salto di Quirra in Sardinia, where armies from all over the world have tested their “new weapons” for more than fifty years, and where the Italian government has exploded old military arsenals, inescapably compromising the area. Against this background the film is made up of three elements. The first involves research using the film archives of the shooting range, documenting weapons and explosives from all over the world. The second follows the investigations of a geologist who tries to trace the pollution caused by the military experiments. The third recounts the activities of two farmers and their relationship with the land, their animals and a past deeply affected by the military activities. Materia Oscura is the story of this silently poisoned place. Between the mountains and the sea and the past and present, an “imaginary war” is staged which would never appear to come to an end.