| Terraferma | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Emanuele Crialese |
| Written by |
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| Produced by |
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| Starring |
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| Cinematography | Fabio Cianchetti |
| Edited by | Simona Paggi |
| Music by | Franco Piersanti |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | 01 Distribution |
Release dates |
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Running time | 88 minutes |
| Country | Italy |
| Languages | Italian France |
| Budget | €7.85 million[1] |
Terraferma is a 2011 Italiandrama film directed byEmanuele Crialese, who co-wrote the screenplay withVittorio Moroni.[2] The film chronicles the intensification of therefugee crisis inInsular Italy in the beginning of the 2010's.
The film had its world premiere at the68th Venice International Film Festival, and was selected as the Italian entry for theBest Foreign Language Film at the84th Academy Awards,[3][4] but it did not make the final shortlist.[5]
OnLinosa, fishermen are punished for saving illegal immigrants (refugees) from the sea and, back on shore, letting them go, because this amounts to facilitatingillegal immigration. Therefore young local Filippo does not allow them on his boat. After witnessing several deaths, Filippo changes his mind and helps a family (a mother, a little boy and a newborn baby) adrift at the Mediterranean sea to arrive at the Italian mainland.
The film was produced through Italy'sCattleya with 10% co-production support from France, including 200,000 euro fromFrance 2 Cinéma and money from theCNC. The total budget was €7.85 million.[1]
The film had its world premiere at the68th Venice International Film Festival where it was screened in the main competition,[6] winning theSpecial Jury Prize.[7]
It was released in Italian theaters on 7 September 2011 through01 Distribution.[8]
Terraferma has an approval rating of 67% onreview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, based on 24 reviews, and an average rating of 6.3/10.[9]Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 57 out of 100, based on 9 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[10]
Jay Weissberg ofVariety described it as "a well-made movie with no pretension but also no crying need to be at a major film festival."[11] Deborah Young ofThe Hollywood Reporter called it "a morally passionate social drama, muted by overly familiar storytelling."[12] Gary Goldstein of theLos Angeles Times wrote, "The thematically rich production is grounded in deep moral and emotional reflection."[13] Chuck Wilson ofThe Village Voice called it predictable and heavy-handed.[14]