independent docs
AMICI DEL MARE
“The surf is where you find it.”
CASTIGLIONCELLO, TOSCANA —
Amici del Mare is a short documentary film examining surf culture and lifestyle on the Tuscan Coast. Following the lives of the instructors and team riders of Amici del Mare Surf School, the film features a heartwarming story of family values in the beautiful coastal town of Castiglioncello. The story considers the transition of surfing in Italy from alternative to popular culture through a mutual, deep connection to the ocean. Director Tara Guaimano and producer Jackson Klarsfeld are students at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York. Guaimano is an Italian-American surfer from New Jersey who crossed paths with the surfers during her time studying abroad in Italy.
In October 2019, I debuted my first original documentary short, “Amici del Mare,” translating to Friends of the Sea in English, in the James A. Cannavino Library Alumni Reading Room, at a World Premiere event sponsored by Marist Abroad Programs and the Italian Language Program. It was named an Official Selection of the 18th annual Garden State Film Festival in Asbury Park, New Jersey, virtually on March 26-29 owing to the coronavirus outbreak — and eventually, won the award for Best College/University International Short Film.
Follow Amici Del Mare on Instagram here. Stream the film below —
Read my article about Amici Del Mare in The Florentine.
A sea of Italian beachgoers sunbathed along the Garagolo bay in late September. Beside them sat a group of five young surfers, longboards in hand, watching the lifeless water lapping on the rocky shoreline. The endless Italian summer was great for the tanned patrons, but the surfers’ outlook greatly differed. The Garagolo hadn’t seen a single wave all week. Nonetheless, Michele Rinaldi, a 27-year-old local surfer, paddled out on a soft-top longboard, with eager eyes and no waves in sight. However, by October, the Garagolo saw waves reaching up to two meters overhead.
More at The Florentine.
