Terraferma (film)

Plot

On Linosa, fishermen are punished for saving illegal immigrants (boat people) from the sea and, back on shore, letting them go, because this amounts to facilitating illegal immigration. Therefore young local Filippo does not allow them on his boat. Several die, and Filippo changes his mind about the matter: he helps a family consisting of a mother, a little boy and a newborn baby, to leave to the Italian mainland.

Cast

Production

The film was produced through Italy's Cattleya with 10% co-production support from France, including 200,000 euro from France 2 Cinéma and money from the CNC. The total budget was 7.85 million euro.

Release

The film premiered at the 68th Venice International Film Festival where it was screened in competition. It won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival, the equivalent of third place. It was released in Italy on 7 September 2011 through 01 Distribution.

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, reports that 68% of 19 surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating was 6.6/10. Jay Weissberg of Variety described it as "a well-made movie with no pretension but also no crying need to be at a major film festival." Deborah Young of The Hollywood Reporter called it "a morally passionate social drama, muted by overly familiar storytelling." Gary Goldstein of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "The thematically rich production is grounded in deep moral and emotional reflection." Chuck Wilson of The Village Voice called it predictable and heavy-handed.