Zonderwater is a 17-minute dramatic short film made in Italy and directed by Jonathan Soverchia. In a visionary, symbolic language, it tells the story of Ezio Triccoli, a figure destined to become a fencing master and a reference point for Italy's leading athletes.
The film's central subject is fencing, a discipline Ezio discovers while detained at the Zonderwater prison camp in South Africa during the Second World War. Here sport becomes an opportunity for redemption and rebirth, transforming the painful experience of imprisonment into a decisive moment in the protagonist's personal and professional formation.
The narrative develops through a dreamlike, fragmented dimension: from childhood memories to confronting fate in the detention camp, then projecting forward to his future as a fencing master. Images are interwoven with symbols, visions and memories, creating a path that unites memory, pain and hope.
The main characters include Ezio, played by Giacomo Bottoni, and other significant roles such as Prinsloo (Andrea Chimenti), alongside Luigi Moretti and Valentina Bonafoni. The presence of young fencers strengthens the link between Triccoli's historical figure and the future of the sport.
The film's message shows how sport, particularly fencing, can represent not only discipline and sacrifice but also a means of inner transformation, capable of rewriting a person's destiny.
Produced by Jonathan Soverchia, the short is not a student project and was completed on 1 June 2023 with a production budget of €10,000.
Film Details
Title: Zonderwater
Original title: Zonderwater
Director: Jonathan Soverchia
Production: Jonathan Soverchia
Country: Italy
Language: Italian
Running time: 17 minutes
Genre: Drama (Short film)
Sport featured: Fencing
Protagonist(s): Giacomo Bottoni (Ezio Triccoli), Andrea Chimenti (Prinsloo), Luigi Moretti, Valentina Bonafoni
Completion date: 1 June 2023
Premiere: [Not specified]
Distributor: [Not stated]
Shooting format: Digital, 16:9, colour
Director's first film: No
Student project: No