Ave Maria Resident Completes Documentary Film
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Published on Wednesday, 06 May 2009 15:37
If you drive along almost any stretch of the coast of Italy, you'll see them overlooking the sea -- thousands of watchtowers (like the one at right) built to help defend against marauding Muslim corsairs in the 16th century. The towers fascinated Ave Maria resident Tony Schweikle when he and his wife drove along the Italian coast several years ago. Now, Mr. Schweikle, an accomplished filmmaker, has produced a documentary film about the towers that answers many of the questions he pondered: How were they built? How were they used? Who manned them?
Mr. Schweikle started shooting still pictures of the towers, thinking they would make an intriguing coffee-table book. But what started as a book project eventually turned out as the film
Barbarossa and the Towers of Italy. A historical documentary, the film looks not just at the towers, but also at 16
th-century life a
long the coast of Italy when Saracen pirates plundered coastal villages and took prisoners for the slave markets of Turkey and North Africa. "More than one million western Europeans were captured during the reign of the Ottoman Empire," Mr. Schweikle said.
"The film also includes exciting re-enactments that highlight the career of the infamous Saracen pirate, Pasha Heyreddin, also known as Barbarossa." (left)
The watchtowers were the first line of defense against the attacks of the Saracen pirates, Mr. Schweikle explains. "The towers' history is revealed for the first time in this documentary. Thousands of them were built and hundreds of them have withstood the assault of man and nature and can be visited today. They are located on the shores of some of the most dramatic and beautiful places on earth."
Mr. Schweikle shot most of the film near the medieval town of Ispani, about half-way between Rome and Sicily, where he and his wife, the artist Phyllis Alden, live for part of the year. He used many of the town residents as actors. The cast is posed right in Ispani.
"Roberto Negri, who plays Barbarossa, was the only veteran actor. Most of the people appearing in the film are townspeople - landscapers, office workers - all kinds of ordinary folks."
He wrapped up the two-year project early this year, and has had discussions with a number of networks and distributors. A final distribution agreement will come after the documentary is shown at a number of film festivals, including the Naples International Film Festival in November. A trailer of the movie can be seen by clicking on the festival's site here.
Barbarossa and the Towers of Italy is narrated by veteran television and film actor Alex Cord. More detail about the film and production credits can be found at www.barbarossaandthetowers.com.
