The Lions of Lissa
The Lions of Lissa is the second chapter of the trilogy of “human adventure” exploration documentaries written and directed by Nicolò Bongiorno. It is 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.
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Nicolò BongiornoDirector
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Nicolò BongiornoWriter
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Nicolò BongiornoProducer
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Tina HajonProducer
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Nicolò BongiornoKey Cast"narrator"
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Francesco TiboniKey Cast"marine archeologist"
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Jozko BozanicKey Cast"linguist"
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Roberto RinaldiKey Cast"underwater explorer"
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Veljano ZankiKey Cast"free diver"
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Roberto RinaldiUnderwater Photography
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Giacomo BerthetDirector of Photography
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Project Type:Documentary
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Genres:history, adventure, underwater, archaeology
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Runtime:1 hour 16 minutes
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Completion Date:January 7, 2019
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Country of Origin:Italy
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Country of Filming:Croatia, Italy
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Language:Croatian, English, Italian
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Shooting Format:Digital
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:No
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Trieste Film FestivalTrieste
Italy
January 20, 2019
International
out of competition -
Firenze ArcheofilmFirenze
Italy
March 17, 2019
Italian
Winner Best Film -
Mediterranean Film Festival SplitSplit
Croatia
July 14, 2019
Official Selection -
Vieste ArcheofilmVieste
Italy
July 14, 2019
Winner Best Film -
Liburnia Film FestivalOpatjia
Croatia
August 26, 2019
Official Selection -
Rovereto Film FestivalRovereto
Italy
October 2, 2019
Official Selection -
Arkhaios Film FestivalColumbia, South Carolina
United States
October 10, 2019
North American Premiere
Winner Best Underwater film -
Licodia Eubea Film FestivalLicodia Eubea
Italy
October 20, 2019
Winner Audience Award -
The Archaeology Channel Film FestivalEugene
United States
May 13, 2020
Official Selection -
International Underwater Film Festival in BelgradeBelgrade
Serbia
December 22, 2019
Special Award -
International Archaerology Film Festival in SplitSplit
Croatia
November 6, 2020
Winner Best Film -
Agon International FestivalAthens
Greece
May 14, 2022
Special mention for the cinematography award, Special mention for the archaeological film award, Special mention for the Grand Prix award
Nicolò Bongiorno, born in Milan, Italy, in 1976, is a documentary filmmaker, creative producer, screenwriter and actor. He has written directed and produced biographical and historical documentaries with a very personal touch and a poetic visionary style for Italian television. He is currently working on an exploration documentary series, “3 human adventures” a quest into the dimensions of rock, water and space that becomes a transformative and existential experience.