To tell Francesco Cappuzzo's story, we got wet. In every sense.

Some stories can't be told from the shore. Francesco Cappuzzo's is one of them. That's why, for Heart on the Wind, the crew put on wetsuits and walked into the water with the camera.

A Sicilian who grew up with the wind

Francesco grew up at Capo Granitola, in Campobello di Mazara (Trapani), the point of the Sicilian coast closest to Tunisia and one of the windiest on the island. He started windsurfing with his father, won his first European junior race at seven and collected eight Italian freestyle titles before turning seventeen. Kitesurfing and wingfoil came next, and in 2023 he became wingfoil world champion (GWA FreeFly-Slalom, in Brazil).

Heart on the Wind tells that life bound to the sea: the wind, the family, the island and what it takes to reach the top in a sport played on the water.

Why we filmed in the water

You can't understand Francesco with a long lens from the sand. His place is the sea, and our conversations with him had to happen there, waist-deep with the horizon behind. No zoom gives you that closeness: the subject is on home ground and the viewer feels it.

How to prepare a shoot like this

• Wetsuits for the whole crew, not just for whoever is on camera. If the operator gets cold, the camera shakes.
• Handheld camera on a stabiliser to follow people into the water, and a tripod planted in the seabed for long, steady shots.
• Light rules. With the sun facing the sea you get the backlight and sparkles that turn a useful shot into a beautiful one.
• Safety before the shot. Calm sea, shallow water, someone watching from the shore and the kit always above the waterline.

Credits

• Title: Heart on the Wind
• Director: Francesco Montefusco
• Production: Polarys Italia
• Shooting: 90% filmed in Sicily
• Supported by: Sicilia Film Commission

If you have a story that asks you to go all the way in, in Sicily or anywhere else, tell us about it. We'll bring the wetsuits.