- Shedding a new light in the deepest depths of the Adriatic sea, a modern fairy tale that renews the spirit of underwater exploration.
- "The Lions of Lissa" is the second chapter of the trilogy of "human adventure" exploration documentaries written and directed by Nicolò Bongiorno. Its based on the backdrop of the story of the legendary "battle of Lissa" (1866), the first fleet battle ever involving Ironclad warships, which triggered a fundamental geopolitical junction for several European nations in the context of the "Italian Risorgimento". Crossing the boundaries of genres between the classical films of naturalistic exploration, and the literary Greek "circumnavigation Periplo's" that combined real history and imagined history, the story is represented as a poetic and personal tale full of action and wonder, in a mosaic of visual, historical, anthropological and mythological references. The documentary team has achieved an underwater photography work of the highest technical value, shedding a new light on the spirit of underwater exploration and from the point of view of naval archaeological history carrying out a deep and complex dive of significant scientific value on a legendary wreck lost in the depths of the Adriatic sea.—Nicolò Bongiorno
- THE LIONS OF LISSA is an action/adventure/exploration documentary film. It evokes the story of the legendary naval battle of Lissa (1866), a symbolic clash and icon of the modern seamanship. The first naval battle of history fought with fleets of armored battleships. A fundamental junction for European nations in the context of the "Italian Risorgimento". Through a mosaic of visual, historical and mythological references, the spectator travels with great masters of underwater exploration to the deep womb of a forgotten chapter of the unification of Italy. A story that develops within the waters of Lissa, the mysterious and ancient Issa, in the heart of that Adriatic Sea, cradle of the maritime culture of the Mediterranean. An exciting crescendo of encounters with extraordinary characters, that drive the journey through stories of legendary shipwrecks and myths of sea heroes. Among sunken warships, Dalmatian songs and poems recited by the last living witnesses of the "lingua franca". A dive of great archaeological importance, told as a modern fairy tale.
The imaginary journey (or fantastic journey) is a narrative genre focused on the description of a fictitious journey to imaginary or otherwise never seen places, often resorting to fantastic elements. The fantastic journey is one of the most archaic literary forms and remains one of the basic frames for the creation of literary fantasies, from the epic Odyssey of Homer, to the narrative with a geographical background, to the apocryphal travel reports with exotic and wonderful elements, to the stories fairytale like the stories of Sinbad the sailor, the description of utopian worlds, the scientific novels of Jules Verne, the journeys in the universes of science fiction. The reference in the approach to this film are the ancient periplo's, which cross the boundaries between real history and fantastic story. Lissa ... fabled like the Gibraltar of the Adriatic, stony guardian of the Dalmatian coast, secretly guarded by a system of impregnable fortifications. A place suspended in an indefinite, invisible, utopian space and time ... An adventurous tale constructed through the elements of imagined history... a pluridimensional and surreal fairytale oscillating between the quest of documenting the lives of men and peoples and the sudden appearance of the power of sacred nature as the voice of the deep that connects us with our mystery and the universe ... in search of an ideal human integrity. The author who shapes the film (Nicolò Bongiorno) also becomes one of its characters, narrating his encounters, recalling his travels, visiting the places or meeting the natural and cultural landscapes; within the context of the trilogy project the Lions of Lissa represents the middle navigation, moving on from an iconic mountain of the Alps, to the exploration of a lost wreck in the sea depths... and re-emerging towards the next chapter which will try to express the wonder of the night sky as seen when lost in a desert.
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