Principal photography for Tales Of The Sea has begun today in Puglia, Italy.

Tales From The Sea is the new feature film from Italian-American filmmaker Luca Severi, and the latest project from his production company, Luca Severi Production Group. The film stars Luka Zunic, recent recipient of Venice Film Festival’s Nuovo Imaie Talent Award, and emerging talent Khadim Faye.

The film is produced by Giovanni Labadessa and Lorenzo Mazzè, with Marco Tomaselli as director of photography and Dino Sardella as screenwriter.

From Puglia, Tonino (Zunic) longs for his father’s approval and wishes to prove himself through fishing. Ima (Faye) is an African refugee attempting to reach Italy safely. Adrift together in the Ionian Sea, the pair must brave the elements and overcome their suspicion and fear of one another to make it safely back to land.

Severi describes Tales Of The Sea as “a movie about migrants, but approached through comedy. I wanted to tell the story of two boys to strip away any geopolitical issues surrounding the theme and to address it, despite its drama, as what it truly is: the story of human beings on both sides who can and should help each other. Ultimately, our protagonists are living a great adventure, adrift together in a vast sea, whether literal or metaphorical.”