“Deep Blue Legacy” Selected for RAM Film Festival 2025
We’re proud to share that the short documentary “Operation Deep Blue Legacy: The Legacy Begins” has been officially selected for the 2025 edition of RAM – Rovereto Archeologia Memorie Film Festival, taking place from 24 to 28 September in Rovereto, Italy.
The film will compete for the Audience Award (RAM Film Festival Prize) and will also be evaluated by a jury of experts for the “History and Memory” Award.
A festival that celebrates memory, beauty, and fragility
Organized by the Civic Museum Foundation of Rovereto, RAM is an international festival dedicated to cultural heritage, archaeology, and the power of storytelling through film. Since 1990, the festival has blended knowledge, emotion, and exploration through screenings, talks, exhibitions, and local experiences.
Each edition is structured around a central theme. For 2025, the theme is Water — in all its forms and meanings:
“Water and human communities, the rivers and seas that shaped civilizations. Water as a space for food, trade, communication, discovery. Water as a battleground. Water as a precious and increasingly threatened resource, forcing populations to migrate or confront. And water as a force that destroys — threatening heritage and memory in the face of the climate crisis. Finally, water as a hidden world where underwater archaeology reveals stories of our past.”
Deep Blue Legacy: Where nature and memory converge
The documentary Deep Blue Legacy, created with the support of our partner DWS and in collaboration with SDSS and Ghost Diving, follows a powerful underwater mission: the removal of deadly ghost nets from historic shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea.
Beyond raising awareness about abandoned fishing gear and marine pollution, the film also highlights the cultural value of our underwater heritage — and the urgency of preserving both ecosystems and history. It’s a story about the traces we leave behind, not only in the sea but in time.
And the legacy doesn’t stop there. Today, the documentary is also being brought into schools, where it is used as an educational tool to spark curiosity, empathy, and environmental responsibility in younger generations.
➡ The documentary is in three parts you can watch here: Part 1 (mission), Part 2 (history), Part 3 (science).
➡ Learn more about the project, the short graphic novel that was inspired by it and other things (also in Italian): Operation Deep Blue Legacy
➡ Discover how the story lives on in the classroom: From Shipwrecks to School Desks
We are honored to bring this story to the RAM Film Festival — and to contribute to a broader conversation about water, memory, and our collective future.
About the director
Artemis Samothrakis has been working in TV and cinema since 2008. His rich work includes television shows, short films, a non-profit feature length film, and documentaries, as well as the authorship of a children’s book. After founding his own production company, Worm Creative Hub, he has been able to produce, among other things, promotional campaigns for important causes for the Ministry of Health and the Hellenic Federation of Persons with Multiple Sclerosis. His 2018 collaboration with Pierre-Yves Cousteau in the documentary “Healthy Seas: Mission in Santorini” has won two awards in the 7th International Documentary Festival of Ierapetra. His continued work with Healthy Seas highlights his interest and commitment to environmental preservation. He is currently in the process of editing two new documentaries.
Credits:
- Samara Croci, Healthy Seas Foundation, Production & Script
- Isadora Abuter, Healthy Seas, Production & Script
- Derk Remmers, Ghost Diving Germany (Underwater Videographer)
- Mario Arena, SDSS ,Underwater Explorer, Historical Diving Expert & Videographer
- Henning May, Ghost Diving Germany, Scientific Advisor
- Hens van Oeveren, Ghost Diving Netherlands, Project Diver
- Pascal van Erp, Ghost Diving & Healthy Seas Foundation, Marine Conservation Expert
- Ben Oortwijn, Healthy Seas Foundation, Project Diver
- Mario Brischetto, Boat Captain and On-Board Chef
- We also wish to thank: Imad Farhat, Stefano Gualtieri and Bartek Trzcinski for further video footage underwater.
- Artemis Samothrakis, Direction – Editing
- Nikolaos Chatzievangelou – Manalis, Cinematographer
- Giannis Kassis, Cinematographer
- Giannis Tsivgoulis, Post Production
- Foteini Aleksaki, Translations
- Original Music by Balsam,
- Music Produced by Athens Music House
A special thanks for the use of historical video footage and pictures:
- Italian Military Archives (video footage, La Battaglia dei Convogli Mediterranei)
- Ufficio Storico Marina Militare, Italy (pictures)
- Imperial War Museum, UK (pictures)
- SDSS, Underwaterhistory.org (3D models of Veloce and Lupo)
