I fantasmi di Portopalo

I Fantasmi di Portopalo, based on the book of the same name by Giovanni Maria Bellu, is a two-part miniseries recounting the first major migrant tragedy in the Mediterranean in 1996. The drama seeks to shed light on the deaths of 283 people off the coast of Portopalo, who lost their lives twenty years ago while crossing from Libya to Sicily. The vessel was carrying migrants primarily from India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The shipwreck occurred on Christmas night in the Strait of Sicily. In 2001, the tragedy resurfaced thanks to a local fisherman who refused to look the other way. Driven by a strong sense of civic responsibility, he joined forces with journalist Giovanni Maria Bellu to resume and complete an investigation that had long remained unfinished. The miniseries received the patronage of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).