Next, Istituto Luce approached him to make a short film about the 2013 migrant shipwreck off the Italian island of Lampedusa, but Rosi soon scrapped the project for a full-length documentary on Italy's treatment of the ongoing European migrant crisis. He shot "Fire at Sea" (2016) for almost an year in Lampedusa, focusing on the crisis as seen through the people of the island, such as 12-years old Samuele and migrants' doctor Pietro Bartolo. It was entered in competition at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival, winning once again the festival's highest award, the Golden Bear, and receiving widespread international critical acclaim upon its release. The film was the first documentary submitted by Italy for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film category, although it didn't make the final shortlist, and was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 89th Academy Awards. It also won the European Film Award for Best Documentary.