The island of Lampedusa, between Sicily and Tunisia, is a major destination point for refugees fleeing Africa and the Middle East. In recent years hundreds of thousands of immigrants seeking a better life have landed there with the literal shirts on their backs. Rosi spent a year on the island experiencing the reality for the fishing families living there, an Italian coast guard swamped with a massive human crisis, and the heart-wrenching stories of people driven to desperation. Rosi’s moving documentary reveals the subtle connections between the micro and macro realities of our globalized world. This year’s Italian submission for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.

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Reviews: Artforum, The Village Voice, Reverse Shot, Brooklyn Magazine, Slant Magazine, Cinema Scope

Interviews: Interview with Gianfranco Rosi at Film Comment

 

Filmography: Sacro GRA (2013), El Sicario, Room 164 (2010), Below Sea Level (2008), Boatman (1993)