Dir. Gianfranco Rosi. 2016. 108 mins. Italian with English Subtitles. The first documentary to ever win the top award at the Berlin International Film Festival, Fire at Sea takes place in Lampedusa, a once peaceful Mediterranean island that has become a major entry point for African refugees into Europe. There, we meet Samuele, a twelve-year-old boy who lives simply, climbing rocks by the shore and playing with his slingshot. Yet nearby we also witness thousands of men, women, and children voyaging from Africa in boats that are too small for such a journey­. Filmmaker Gianfranco Rosi masterfully places these realities side by side, and in so doing jolts us into a new understanding of what is really happening in the Mediterranean, and of what it means for humanity in general.

Fire at Sea has been shortlisted for the Academy Award for Documentary Feature.

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