Fuocoammare (2016)

Capturing life on the Italian island of Lampedusa, a frontline in the European migrant crisis.

Director:

Gianfranco Rosi

Writers:

Gianfranco Rosi, Carla Cattani (idea)

Stars:

Samuele Pucillo, Mattias Cucina, Samuele Caruana

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 14 wins & 25 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview:
Samuele Pucillo	...	Himself
Mattias Cucina	...	Himself
Samuele Caruana	...	Himself
Pietro Bartolo	...	Himself
Giuseppe Fragapane	...	Himself
Maria Signorello	...	Herself
Francesco Paterna	...	Himself
Francesco Mannino	...	Himself
Maria Costa	...	Herself

Storyline

Situated some 200km off Italy's southern coast, Lampedusa has hit world headlines in recent years as the first port of call for hundreds of thousands of African and Middle Eastern migrants hoping to make a new life in Europe. Rosi spent months living on the Mediterranean island, capturing its history, culture and the current everyday reality of its 6,000-strong local population as hundreds of migrants land on its shores on a weekly basis. The resulting documentary focuses on 12-year-old Samuele, a local boy who loves to hunt with his slingshot and spend time on land even though he hails from a culture steeped in the sea.

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Plot Keywords:

italy | pregnant with twins | lazy eye | documentary style | 2010s | 

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Genres:

Documentary

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Germany] Official site [Japan]

Country:

Italy France

Language:

Italian English

Release Date:

18 February 2016 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Mare nostrum

Filming Locations:

Lampedusa, Italy

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

€384,633 (Italy), 29 February 2016

Opening Weekend USA:

$11,906, 21 October 2016, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$114,535, 17 March 2017

Company Credits

Production Co:

Stemal Entertainment, 21 Unofilm, Istituto Luce Cinecittà

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi highly appreciated the movie, stating that he would carry with him 27 DVD copies of the film to a session of the European Council. Each one of the copies was given to a head of state or government of the European Union.

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Quotes

Nigerian Refugee: This is my testimony... We could no longer stay in Nigeria. Many were dying. Most were bombed... We flee from Nigeria. We ran to the desert. We went Sahara Desert and many died... Raping and killing many people, and we could not stay. We flee to Libya. And Libya was a city of ISIS. And Libya was a place not to stay. We cried on our knees, 'What shall we do?' The mountains could not hide us. The people could not hide us. And we ran to the sea. On the journey on the sea, 200 passengers died. They...

User Reviews

Perfect Balance between Beauty and Pain

Fuocoammare AKA Fire at Sea is a 2016 Italian documentary feature that made it through the whole 66 Berlin International Film Festival to get The Golden Bear which is the most prestigious award of the festival, and it totally deserved it.

Documentary films can be known for have a harsh look given his nature of realism and objectivity, the visual element becomes secondary when it's Reality the substance of the discourse in the movie, and also having in mind the idea of the political possibilities that this tool offers is normal to think that aesthetics are not really relevant.

In this case, Fire at Sea achieves the perfect balance between both elements: Political statement or position from a very Objective point of view; and very beautiful visual development without affect to much the reality of happenings. We are talking about a spellbinding but bittersweet piece of work that it can really shock you both painfully and delightedly, it's captivating but thrilling at the same time a really must see feature.