Matteo Renzi, the Italian prime minister, says he will give copies of an award-winning documentary about the migrant experience to heads of state at an EU summit in Turkey in March.
Fire at Sea, by Italian director Gianfranco Rosi, won the Golden Bear prize at the Berlin film festival on Saturday. It tells the story of the migrant crisis through the eyes of locals on the Italian island of Lampedusa, the destination for thousands of refugees making the journey across the Mediterranean.
The documentary includes footage of Italian coastguard missions to rescue migrants who have put out distress calls. Many of the vessels are filled with the bodies of people who have suffocated after inhaling diesel fumes.
Renzi said he would be heading to the migration summit in Turkey “with 27 DVDs for the 27 heads of state and government. I hope they will find the time to watch it, and that after having seen it, it will be possible to discuss immigration in a different way.”
The Italian prime minister has praised the film for showing the humanity of people who see the new arrivals on Lampedusa as human beings, not numbers. Renzi added: “I am for Italian cinema, which deserves all our attention. But so does the chosen theme.”
The Golden Bear award means that Rosi, who was born in Eritrea, is now seen as a “new significant force in European cinema”, according to Andrew Pulver, a film critic for the Guardian. Rosi’s earlier film, Sacro GRA, about Rome’s ring road, achieved another major prize, the Golden Lion from Venice.
“That may have been considered a one-off freak for an Italian film festival looking to support homegrown talent. But two of the biggest European festival awards in a row looks less like a coincidence and more like a coronation,” Pulver wrote.
