D o c u m e n t a r y 1x 52′
WWII: a handful of fearless Italians carry out top secret experimental underwater incursions that both frighten and fascinate the Royal Navy and its Allies. The ultimate objective is to attack New
York. Both then and now, their strategies became a model to military navies all over the world.
Synopsis
At the outbreak of the Second World War, the British controlled the only access route to the Atlantic, in fact they enjoyed the supremacy of the Mediterranean.
The Italian Navy had to reduce the naval strength of the enemy in a rapid and unexpected way. Something new and above suspicion was needed. A secret weapon!
The Island of Elba – 1936. A military policeman on his bicycle
delivers an order to the naval engineer, Teseo Tesei, calling him to the High Command of the Regia Marina; the time has come to dust off his old plan.
Tesei’s plan involves the development of a secret weapon: a torpedo ridden by two men provid
ed with experimental underwater breathing equipment. Underwater incursions were getting under way and they would not stop at Tesei’s plan. The visionary inventor Angelo Belloni, Lieutenant Eugenio Wolk and Commander Juno Valerio Borghese, will be responsible for its development.
Autonomous diving is in its infancy, science and technology are taking their first steps in this field. There are plenty of uncertainties to be faced, some of which are still being researched today, especially as far as diving physiology is concerned.
Reckless actions , at the bounds of human possibility, fearless and extraordinary men who with experimental means and improbable equipment faced first-hand the risks and challenges in the extreme context of war; their motto was “one hit one ship!”
At first thought to be a small aimless group of unorganized crackpots, they become the thorn in
the flesh of the British, caught off guard by daring and avant-garde military operations.
British Intelligence investigates a modified torpedo found on the Spanish coasts. The secret starts
to waver. The British are both fearful of the incursions whilst admiring and studying the modus
operandi as well as the technology of this handful of men. if they push to defend themselves from the raiders, they also rush to emulate them.
After one of the most outstanding actions of the frogmen, in the 10th Assault Vehicle Flotilla, the attack on the harbor of Alexandria in Eygpt in December 1941, Winston Churchill commented:
“6 poorly equipped Italians have caused the military balance in the Mediterranean to totter to the advantage of the Axis”
When by that time the secret was no longer
a secret in the Mediterranean, this handful
of men plan a sensational action: a surprise
attack on the New York harbor.
Narrative Style
The narrative is embedded with espionage, inner dynamics of the Italian and British
Commands, easily identifiable historical characters, concrete, sterling actions of war and narrative suspence. All of this without neglecting the technical and tactical planning of the attack on the New
York harbor, at the end of the film.
Given that this subject matter was at the time covered by absolute secrecy, the filmed archive material is not easy to trace back.
The film will therefore be recounted through fiction reconstructions, archive material, documents, interviews with experts, authors of books and essays on the subject. As for the stilistic approach, we are planning to partially replacing the archive footage with black and white animated comic strips whose narrative style, drawings and graphics (2D / 3D) will be executed by artist Simone Spagnolo. For reference, the officialpostcard of the 75th anniversary of the Italian Air Force designed by Simone, who will also draw inspiration from popular Italian comics such as Diabolik, Corto Maltese, Dylan Dog.
To understand some physical difficulties and technical limitations of that time, tests will be carried out in the water with the help of scuba divers simulating situations of the epoch. In order to explain technological and physiological aspects more effectively, CGI will be used. A narrator will shed light on the most complex aspects portrayed along the whole film.