A film by Federico Fornaro and Giuseppe Lupinacci

 

 

The Sense of Place: Documenting Ocean Relationship premiered on May 14 at the French Embassy in Rome during the event La Notte delle Idee – Mari e Oceani: Verso nuove rotte, organized by the Institut Français at Palazzo Farnese, Rome.

 

 

Before the screening, the project was presented by Chiara Certomà (MEMOTEF Department, Sapienza University of Rome) and Federico Fornaro (Raw-News Visual Production Agency), as part of the CO>SEA Collaboratorium for the Socio-Environmental Analysis of the Ocean.

 

Directed and filmed by Federico Fornaro and Giuseppe Lupinacci (Raw-News), and featuring Giorgio De Franceschi, the documentary presents an investigation into ocean-society interconnections.

Focusing particularly on the perspectives of seagoing individuals—especially surfers—the video-doc kick-off the investigation of how an affective connection with the ocean is formed and expressed, by adopting emotional communication approach around the concept and lived experience of “sense of place”.

Acknowledging the growing recognition by international institutions of the importance of ocean literacy, the film underscores the need to cultivate care-based relationships with the ocean for fostering a sense of responsibility. We care for what we understand, feel bonded with, and ultimately love—not merely for the services it provides.

The Sense of Place demonstrates how visual storytelling can deepen understanding of emotional attachment to the ocean. Through a seamless collaboration between researchers and media professionals, the documentary exemplifies the power of visual documentation in marine social geography and in catalysing engaged, transformative, and participatory research related to the ocean.

 

La Nuit des Idées

La Nuit des Idées provided an opportunity to bring the extraordinary historical and artistic heritage of Palazzo Farnese into dialogue with one of the most pressing issues of our time. The event was an evening of beauty, exchange, discussion, and discovery—an opening to the ocean we share, and a reflection on new trajectories.

 

Credits and Accessibility

The Sense of Place: Documenting Ocean Relationship was produced by Raw-News Visual Production Agency as part of the European Horizon project PartArt4OW and the Sapienza Third Mission pilot initiative CoSea_Lab. The projects are coordinated by Chiara Certomà and are recognised as official activities of the United Nations Ocean Decade.

Filming was supported by research funds from the University of Turin (ESOMAS Department) and the Horizon Europe Citizen Science initiative SeaPaCS – Participatory Citizen Science Against Marine Pollution (IMPETUS4CS, 2023).

The production also benefitted from the collaboration of CO>SEA team at Sapienza: Caterina Pozzobon, Luca Bertocci, Chiara Salari.

Special thanks are extended to the surfing community of Anzio and Nettuno, where the documentary has been shot, the community of sea workers and seagoing people in Anzio and the Anzio City Administration.

 

Information:

• Chiara Certomà – chiara.certoma@uniroma1.it

• Federico Fornaro – federico.fornaro@raw-news.net

• Info: https://crowdusg.net/2025/04/29/blue-kinshipspartart4owinstitut-francais/

• CO>SEA research diary: https://crowdusg.net/cosea/

• PartArt4OW project: https://partart4ow.eu/