London, United Kingdom Jun 11, 2025 (Issuewire.com) - Italian director Alessandro Negrini, already known to international critics and audience for his acclaimed films Paradiso and Tides - both set in and inspired by Northern Ireland - has won Best Feature Documentary at Italys Post Cinema International Film Festival in Siracusa, the countrys leading kermesse for experimental and avant-garde films.
(The moon beneath the water - trailer:
Shot entirely in the remote mountain village of Erto, nestled in the Dolomites Alps, The Moon Beneath the Water draws upon the real memories and voices of its inhabitants to revisit one of Italys most painful collective traumas: the Vajont disaster of 1963, when a man-made environmental catastrophe triggered a devastating landslide and flood, destroying entire communities and claiming nearly two thousand lives.
But rather than offering a straightforward historical account, Negrini chooses a radically different approach. His film floats between dream and reality, combining elements of magical realism, first-person testimony, and poetic allegory to reimagine the tragedy as a timeless parable of human resistance and the fragile relationship between humanity and nature. In doing so, The Moon Beneath the Water (original title: La luna sott'acqua) transcends the boundaries of documentary and fiction, memory and myth.
The festival jury praised the films epic breath and poetic vision reminiscent of Tarkovsky and Angelopoulos, calling it a fresco of rare purity that gives voice to a forgotten communitys enduring will to survive. This work represents a key piece in the grand mosaic of contemporary post-cinema, the jury stated.
The film was showcased at Docs Ireland in Belfast, has won several awards across Europe, and was officially selected for festivals in Portugal, Brazil, and the United Kingdom.
Written by Negrini together with screenwriter Fabrizio Bozzetti, the film features a charming voice narration by Maria Pia Di Meo, the Italian voice of Meryl Streep, and hypnotic cinematography by Oddgeir Saether, known for his collaboration with David Lynch on Inland Empire. The haunting original score is composed by Andrea Gattico, with editing by Beppe Leonetti.
With this work, Alessandro Negrini further establishes himself as one of the most compelling and radical voices in contemporary European cinema a filmmaker who boldly blurs the line between realism and imagination, and who uses avant-garde storytelling to uncover submerged histories and collective wounds that still resonate today.
An Italian-Slovenian co-production, produced by Incipit Film (Italy) in collaboration with Casablanca Film (Slovenia), the project was supported by the Friuli Film Commission, Film Commission Torino Piemonte, the Norwegian Film Institute, and the European Unions MEDIA Programme.
https://www.postcinema.org/post-cinema-film-festival
https://www.cinemaitaliano.info/news/85836/la-luna-sott-acqua-premio-migliore-documentario.html
Source :NewsCinema for 8
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