COMMUNITY Water Sec. Culture
Spirit of Culture is the section dedicated to culture in its broadest sense.
In reality, everything around us is culture: the culture of the sea, the earth, the wind, the countries we pass through, and most importantly, the people we meet on our journeys.
The Spirit of Culture section pays close attention to architecture and art of all kinds: Writing, Cinematography, Photography, Comics, Sculpture, Painting, Dance…
Many activities await us. We’ll set sail again from Venice, heading back toward the Ionian Sea and Zakynthos.
We will seek out lands touched by the great navigators and host artistic activities related to filmmaking and history.
Coordinator:
Martina Cozzolino
Activity:
Navigating a Story from July 6 to August 3, 2025
Dedicated to those with a keen interest in cinema and storytelling!
“Navigating the sea and navigating a story are the same thing… navigating is not a science; it is an art, a relationship of mutual interaction and flexibility with matter.”
Navigating in a Story
Freewriting lessons at sea.
I have always loved sailing and creating stories. Since I was young, my friends and I have sailed along the Dalmatian coast to the Ionian Islands. For us, sailing meant learning to handle a boat, sharing past tales and imagined journeys, cooking, swimming, staying in the bunks of our youth, and facing the fear of a stormy night.
For as long as I can remember, imagining, narrating, and writing a story to transform it into a film has been my passion, occupying all my time. It’s an obsession.
For years, I have avoided “teaching” or explaining what writing a film means to me in the masterclasses I’ve been offered because I felt I was describing something disconnected from my own practice.
Recently, I had an epiphany—while on a boat, no less. The helm in my hands felt like the helm of a story. One by one, every element of sailing perfectly aligned with what I do when I imagine and develop a story for a film: the wind, trimming the sails, the keel, the course, and the rhythm of the boat on the waves.
Sailing suddenly appeared to me exactly like navigating a story.
Umberto Contarello
