Over 2 million see Fire at Sea on TV (2)

(ANSA) - Rome, October 4 - Some 2.273 million people tuned in to watch Gianfranco Rosi's Fire At Sea (Fuocoammare) when it was screened for the first time on Italian television by State broadcaster RAI on Monday. The film, a documentary about Italian migrant stepping-stone island Lampedusa, had 8.8% of the overall audience share and was the third most-watched programme of the evening. The movie won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year and is Italy's contender for the best foreign language film at the 2017 Oscars.
    It looks at the lives of island residents as well as migrants who land on the island, which is closer to Africa than to mainland Italy.
    Among the stories it focuses on is that of Dr Pietro Bartolo, a Lampedusa medic who works with asylum seekers.
    Premier Matteo Renzi is a fan and gave DVDs of it to his fellow European leaders at an EU summit in March to highlight how Italy is tackling the Mediterranean migrant crisis.