The Italian champion filmed a video duel together with the British Helena Bourdillon: “Underwater it’s like going into space”
A lightsaber duel in the depths. That’s what Alessia Zecchini and the British Helena Bourdillon they staged in the depths of the waters to celebrate it Star Wars Daywhich on May 4th every year commemorates the eternal success of the famous saga, which will celebrate its 50th birthday in 2027. The pool hosted the lightsaber duel between the two Jedi of the dive Y-40 The Deep Joy of Paduanormally the scene of training and courses, this time transformed into a film set. George Lucas wasn’t directing it, but Matt Evansunderwater videomaker and founder of the group Deep Altitudes. In front not Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader, but Alessia Zecchini, 40 world records in deep freediving, including the famous 123 meters with the monofin and 113 meters with the two fins, and Helena Bourdillon, a British elite athlete fresh from 4 world records in the Masters category, who has recorded 16 national records in her career.
4 MAY
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For those who don’t know, the date of May 4th it was chosen by fans because it is in English May the Fourth becomes a play on words to be associated with the famous phrase used in the saga of Star Wars“May the Force be with you”. The duel between Zecchini and Bourdillon it was staged in apnea and at several meters of depth. where typical sport elements come into play: precise compensation, management of the diving reflex and perfect control of neutral buoyancy. The two athletes move with elegancemaintaining stability and fluidity, transforming every gesture into choreography.
The visual rendering amplifies this technical dimension: the thermal water, with exceptional visibility, allows clean and distortion-free footagewhile the constant temperature between 32 and 34 degrees eliminates physiological variables linked to the cold, allowing longer and more controlled performances. “Certainly – Alessia Zecchini tells us – I would also really like to go into space in reality: it would be a dream to experience theabsence of gravity and be able to see the Earth and everything that orbits around it from afar. Going underwater is a bit like going into space precisely because of these similarities in the reaction of the human body and the immense infinity that surrounds us.”
THE SUBMERGED SET
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He is there to direct the work and filming Matt Evanswho together with Umberto Aiti transformed the swimming pool into a true submerged set. The technical work recalls great cinematographic productions: directional underwater lighting to simulate lightsabers, management of color contrasts and slow motion shots to emphasize the dynamics of the movements. The waterproof LED lights, calibrated to saturated shades, allow you to recreate the iconic effect of the Jedi weapons, while the stabilization of the shots, complex in a liquid environment, is obtained with neutral adjustments of the cameras and controlled movements of the videographers. The idea was born spontaneously, during a training session. “Playing with underwater lights, Alessia and Helena improvised a challenge that sparked everyone’s imagination,” says Evans. From there, the step towards a tribute to the 49 years of the saga was natural. A context that the two athletes know well: at Y-40 they train regularly, also alternating in the roles of safety diver, a fundamental element in the safety of deep freediving. But this time the routine leaves room for creativity. The result is a hybrid between sport and cinema: freediving as an extreme discipline, but also as a form of expression. “Everything is possible here”, underlines the management of the structure, highlighting how the space lends itself both to competitive preparation and to artistic projects.
race or cinema
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Zecchini then reveals to us that she is truly passionate about Star Wars However, it is Helena: “Her great passion overwhelmed me. I obviously know the saga, on a general level of cinema history and pop culture, but I really enjoyed trying my hand at this scene, literally from a film. And, unlike a race or training, where my concentration is 100% absorbed by things to dowhere I don’t allow any thoughts to interfere and I make sure that my instinct is able to prevail, in underwater scenes like in this case from the film, what prevails is the fun. Helena and I were in our environment and it was really a game”. The video, in fact, manages to bring to the surface, with a single breath, all the strength of an imaginary that combines technique, friendship and entertainment. So all that remains is to watch it, because, even underwater, as in distant galaxies of Star Wars, there is only one rule: “May the Force be with you!”.
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