SCHOOL IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SEA

"Stromboli volcano, Mediterranean Sea, erupts more than 20 times a day.
Inhabitants call him respectfully "Iddu", "HIM".
No cars nor street lighting, kids grow up deeply connected with a breath-taking Nature.
During winters the community faces storms, isolation and depopulation.
Carolina, mother of three, fights everyday to give strombolian kids an education and keep her family on the island."

  • Gaia Russo Frattasi
    Director
  • Gaia Russo Frattasi
    Writer
  • Simone Bachini
    Producer
  • Gaia Russo Frattasi
    Producer
  • Carolina Barnao
    Key Cast
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    SCUOLA IN MEZZO AL MARE
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Genres:
    Edication, Women, Self-organization, Depopulation, Island, Technology
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 13 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    March 1, 2018
  • Production Budget:
    100,000 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Italy
  • Country of Filming:
    Italy
  • Language:
    Italian
  • Shooting Format:
    2k
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1.78:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Visioni Italiane
    Bologna
    Italy
    February 28, 2018
    Italian Premiere
    Official Sel
  • Sciacca Film Festival
    Sciacca
    Italy
    September 11, 2018
    Fuori Concorso
  • Piemonte Movie Glocal Film Festival
    Turin
    Italy
    March 8, 2019
    Regional Premiere
    Distribution Price
  • Doc in Tour
    Bologna
    Italy
    April 1, 2019
    Regional Distribution
Distribution Information
  • Apapaja SRL
    Country: Italy
    Rights: Theatrical
Director Biography - Gaia Russo Frattasi

Born in Chivasso (TO), 1979.
She graduates in Theatre History at Turin University, then she follows Ipotesi Cinema School by M. Ermanno Olmi at Cineteca of Bologna.
She works as a street performer on stilts.
She starts working on sets as a script supervisor and assistant director for Ermanno Olmi, Vittorio De Seta, Giorgio Diritti, and other italian dierctors.
She works for big agencies as a freelance.
She founds Moby Film in 2009.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Does the traditional school still make sense, nowadays?
Can education preserve classical values and expertises, which are still alive in small communities, or are they destined to dissolve?
Is Carolina's educational proposal effective and can it be a model for all isolated territories? Is self-organization a solution?
There’s at stake the depopulation of all the peripheral territories that generates our cultural diversity.