Martin Scorsese has chosen Sicily to shoot a docufilm on ancient shipwrecks. The new project by the famous American director is based on the work of underwater archaeologist Lisa Briggs, professor and researcher at Cranfield University in England. The production will be a collaboration between the Department of Cultural Heritage of the Sicilian Region, Scorsese’s “Sikelia Productions”, Sunk Costs Productions, Chad A. Verdi and LBI Entertainment.
Councilor Francesco Paolo Scarpinato made all the sites, archaeological parks and museums under the department’s responsibility available, recognizing the relevance of the project and the significant return on image for Sicily and its cultural heritage.
The shooting
Filming will be carried out during the summer, not only in the Sicilian Channel, with the collaboration of the Superintendency of the Sea for the marine and underwater parts, but also in various locations in the Trapani area. Among these there are the archaeological park of Selinunte, the site of Marsala-Lilibeo, the Caves of Cusa, Pantelleria, Marausa (where the “Marausa 2” wreck was recently discovered), the museum of the Dancing Satyr of Mazara del Vallo, the Agostino Pepoli regional museum of Trapani and the Salinas regional archaeological museum of Palermo. Other locations include the Tonnara di Favignana, the island of Mozia, Erice and, in the province of Palermo, Polizzi Generosa, the city of origin of the director’s grandparents. Additional locations are still being identified.
