Tra Ponente e Levante: Life in Riva

People in a small Italian town on the Ligurian Sea reflect on more than a century of boat building, net making, fishing, and community life. The shipyards in Riva Trigoso built large vessels, some for transatlantic travel and some for war. They also built smaller boats, especially the leudi, with lateen rigs for tacking into the wind on shorter voyages around the Mediterranean - trading cheese from Sardinia, wine from Elba. With a rich combination of archival material and a sharp look at the present, this quiet and contemplative film observes everyday life in a place "between west and east," a place where the sea has always held the promise of life as well as the threat of death. As offscreen voices recount the days of sailing ships and abundant fish, their raspy, melodic cadences rise and fall like the ever-present sound of the sea. (Full Frame Documentary Film Festival)