The Knights of the Lagoon

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The Knights of the Lagoon (I cavalieri della laguna)

original title:

I cavalieri della laguna

directed by:

screenplay:

production:

country:

Italy

year:

2013

film run:

100'

format:

colour

release date:

13/02/2014

festivals & awards:

A human and poetic journey inside the Orbetello lagoon fishing community, the film uses the stories of the fishermen to examine a new way of fishing, based on sustainability, traditional systems and a philosophy of food production that cares about quality and social justice.
Modernity, the past, tradition, technology, humans, nature, hard work, sacrifice, satisfaction and cooperation between families.
Necessity has pushed this community to reinvent itself, marketing its unique identity while drawing on the skills passed down by the fishermen’s fathers and grandfathers. In a global economy based on big numbers and huge budgets, the logic of small businesses many seem anachronistic, yet it is the only way forward.

DIRECTOR'S NOTE:
I feel it is important to focus on those jobs and lifestyles that have found a harmonious relationship with the earth, air and water. These ways of life are light years ahead of the Western world, which has yet to realize that the real treasure to be discovered and protected is our planet. And as I watch the flat-bottomed boats moving over the surface of the lagoon, full of nets and fish, their crews at work, I imagine that the Etruscans moved across these waters in much the same way, seeking their own sustenance.
And in that moment I understand just how important it is to preserve, improve and help all of our environment, both marine and terrestrial. In my own small way, the most I can do is attempt to give more visibility to this form of environmentally sustainable development, especially at a moment when everybody should stop and reflect on exactly what we and our planet need.
Today more than ever, in the midst of a full-blown economic crisis, people should have the courage, the intelligence and the desire to start again from square one, in an attempt to offer future generations a less-wrong world than the one in which we currently live. And even if this film could be more modestly be interpreted as a voyage towards good, clean and fair, for all of those who want to improve, we, who believe, will have already achieved our goal.