Fire at Sea

A documentary of the island of Lampedusa, a small Sicilian island with a population of 6000, and a major highway to Europe for tens of thousands of refugees who arrive on boats daily.

"Fire at Sea" is a long and contrasting view of the atrocious travel conditions of refugees against the picturesque lifestyle of the residents. While it provides a fascinating insight into the continuous population of arrivals, the message of this film is confused when enveloped by the banality of the local stories. A boy plays with a slingshot, a Nonna cooks pasta, a radio DJ plays a song request... these quieter scenes are cute and charming, but overly distract from the true mission when they dominate the screen time. Lost at Sea.

MIFF 2016
108 mins