Thanks to the support of the Sardinia Region and the National Association of Venezia Giulia and Dalmatia, the film Route 230° – Return to the Land of the Fathers by director Igor Biddau will land in Trieste on the occasion of the Barcolana, a regatta of worldwide resonance that every year attracts hundreds of thousands of sailing enthusiasts from all over the world to the Julian city.
"We will proudly tell this great adventure in a stand at the Barcolana Village on the shores of Trieste, as part of an event of international importance" commented the representatives of the Egea Association who last year, aboard the Klizia, sailed for more than 800 miles to make the story of the community of Fertilia, an example of integration and resilience, known in over 30 cities of the Mediterranean.

The film/documentary, directed by Igor Biddau and produced by Gianluca Vania Pirazzoli for Time Multimedia, premiered at the Venice Film Festival and had its national premiere in Fertilia on September 21st, as part of a major three-day event entitled Fertilia Città di Fondazione . It was an unexpected success, with over 800 spectators attending the screening, moved by the enchanting setting among the Rationalist-style buildings. Special guest Isabelle Adriani, who, among other things, masterfully interpreted some of the film's excerpts with her melodic whistle, greeted the audience with applause, and then gave way to Mauro Manca, who, as host, chose to give the floor to Giuseppe Giannotti, Deputy Director of Rai Cultura, who has decided to acquire the documentary, which will be screened on Rai channels.

The work, written by Mario Audino and Igor Biddau, recounts an extraordinary journey that retraces, in reverse, the route taken in the spring of 1948 by 13 fishing boats carrying 53 families of exiles from Istria, Fiume, and Dalmatia. After being forced to abandon their homeland, after 20 days and 20 nights of sailing along the coasts of Italy, they reached Fertilia, a small, unfinished town near Alghero in northern Sardinia, where the seeds of a new life sprouted. An encounter between a city without inhabitants and a community without a home. The protagonist of the journey was eighty-five-year-old Giulio Marongiu, an exile from Pola who had settled in Fertilia. He sailed over 800 miles in two months to reach Pola, a city he had abandoned 77 years earlier with his family at the age of 8. He sailed aboard his vessel, the Klizia , together with his son Federico, Mauro Manca, Director of the Egean Ecomuseum, and Giuseppe Bellu, a crew member and the son of farmers from the Polesine area, who had arrived in Fertilia way back in 1939 to carry out an incredible land reclamation project commissioned by the then fascist government.

The music, composed specifically for the film by Maestro Pinuccio Pirazzoli, was highly effective, transporting viewers along the route taken by the Klizia and accompanying Federica Picone, voiced by Alina Person, who played the inspiring Siren who guided Giulio on his return to his homeland. The narrator, Roberto Pedicini, one of Italy's finest voice actors, helped bring viewers to life this magnificent journey through the history of so many families now scattered around the world. The photography, by Daniele Diana, was also excellent, as were the underwater images, captured by world champion Virginia Salzedo. The film will be presented at one of the most prestigious venues in the city, the Adriaco Yacht Club, and later at the headquarters of the Association of Istrian Communities. A stand on the waterfront will host various thematic meetings involving the protagonists of the journey, director Igor Biddau, and representatives of the various exile associations involved in the project, along with the Italian Union.

Thanks to this film, which tells a journey destined to remain in memory, it will be possible to make known a wonderful example of resilience and inclusion, which Fertilia certainly was, but more generally the characteristic of an entire community, that of the exiles of Istria, Fiume and Dalmatia, which everywhere in the world has distinguished itself for its great strength and for the ability to rebuild a life in the aftermath of the serious tragedy that struck it. Once again Fertilia will be the protagonist in an international event, such as the Barcolana, which will end with the regatta that will be held aboard the Victoria vessel, which will bear the insignia of Fertilia and the message of the Return to the Land of the Fathers.

Below is the schedule of the main events scheduled:
• October 9, 11.00 am – Inauguration of the exhibition space at the Barcolana Village
• October 10, 17.00 pm – Presentation of the film Route 230° Return to the Land of the Fathers at the Yacht Club Adriaco (by invitation only)
• October 11, 17.00 pm – Presentation of the book Return to the Land of the Fathers – Logbook at the headquarters of the Association of Istrian Communities
• October 12, 11.00 am – Presentation of the book Fertilia – Between Inclusion and Rebirth and the digitalisation projects Bora, Zent and Memory Department – ​​Fertilia Files, at the stand in the Barcolana Village
• October 13, 08,00 am – Participation in the Barcolana aboard VICTORIA – Return to the Land of the Fathers