Synopsis
Sonia is a 19-year-old girl, lives in Palermo and is suffering from Spastic Tetraparesis. At school he discovered the story of Lisca Bianca, a sailboat that went around the world, starting in 1984, led by two spouses, Sergio and Licia Albeggiani. A three-year journey to discover many distant islands.
The boat, after years of abandonment, is recovered and restored through a project in which drug addicts, detained minors, refugees, injured at work participate.
The film intertwines Sonia's life, her daily life, dreams and projects, with the personal stories of those who work on the restoration of Lisca Bianca, in the hope of redeeming their existence. Sonia will understand how much the cooperative spirit, solidarity, sacrifice, are fundamental to the achievement of a common dream. Finally, she will meet Licia Albeggiani, who will symbolically pass the baton to her.
On the day of the launch of Lisca Bianca, Sonia will make "her first veer".
Director's Notes
In 2014 we won the first prize of the competition "A story with the South", organized by Fondazione con il Sud, with a three-minute short film entitled "Lisca Bianca", in which we tell the social project of restoration of the Lisca Bianca boat, by some subjects at risk, such as drug addicts, detained minors.
The boat was famous because in 1984 it had gone around the oceanic world, led by the spouses Sergio and Licia Albeggiani. Then, after his death, gradually over the years it had been abandoned, until, to this day, a group of different enthusiasts and technicians recovers it, to activate therapeutic paths and social projects.
Starting from the recovery action, we wanted to expand the idea of rebirth as a representation of the common effort to achieve a goal, despite the difficulties and complexities of life.
The goddess of the film is born. Let's imagine that the history of the ocean journey, the restoration of the boat years later, the personal events of those who work every day in the shipyard (drug addicts, detained minors, political refugees, injured at work) can embrace the struggle of anyone who wants to affirm their right to be accepted as a human being, as an individual, and not as "different", often pigeonholed into categories that marginalize and make unhappy.
Here then enters the scene Sonia, a disabled girl from Palermo, suffering from spastic tetraparesis, who becomes central to the narrative of the film, driven by her desire to know, to improve her condition, to affirm her personality, to fight against all prejudices and wrong beliefs. His getting involved, agreeing to participate in the film, is already a setting in motion a mechanism of change. Sonia begins to know a world that opens up perspectives, relationships, job opportunities.
Finally everything that until then had been only an aspiration, a desire, a fairy tale for the night is realized. For all the protagonists of the film the dream is to reach one or more goals, not to be alone, to try, to imagine themselves always different, to reach those famous "Distant Islands" that in the old logbook (now a book) of the commander of Lisca Bianca are also a metaphor, a representation of an inner journey that we must all make: never stop dreaming, go beyond our limits, face the time we live, navigate, as when in the sea you meet storms and good-natured, waves and winds, endless horizons, whales and flocks of birds, crystal clear waters and different people.
The film was made through a crowdfunding project on the KissKissBankBank platform, and saw the participation of 94 donors. The film is independent, it does not have a production company or a distributor. The decision to publish the film on the web responds to our need to make it visible to everyone, especially to those who supported it. Of course we are open to any distribution proposal, even non-traditional. So not only halls, but also schools, associations, of course festivals.
Credits
Written and directed by: Enrico Montalbano and Letizia Porcaro
With Sonia Palazzolo and Lisca Bianca
Camera/photography: Enrico Montalbano and Vincenzo Lo Piccolo
Editing: Enrico Montalbano and Letizia Porcaro
Sound: Francesco De Marco
Colorist: Fabrizio Profeta
Free fly Movi : Raffaele La Franca
Assistant: Alessandro Di Piazza
Drone operator: Emanuele Caccia
Original music: Cristiano Stocchetti
Produced by Letizia Porcaro and Enrico Montalbano
The film was made with the support of 94 donors on a crowdfunding project through the international platform KissKissBankBank.