The Holy Boy La Valle dei Sorrisi
Synopsis
Disruptions to the idyllic lives of the people in Remis, also known as the happiest town in Italy, are rare. But when Sergio, a former Judo champion with a tragic past, arrives to take over the school’s physical education program, his palpable pain puts him at odds with the town’s otherwise supernaturally cheerful inhabitants. Soon, he is initiated into Remis’s best-kept secret: once a week, the townspeople gather in a church to meet Matteo, a fifteen-year-old with some secrets of his own. His embrace promises to free its recipient of all their suffering, but this healing touch comes with consequences. Being the town’s savior is soul-crushing work and leaves little room for Matteo to live a life of his own or explore his blossoming queer desires. As the pressures on Matteo mount, Sergio searches for answers about this so-called angel, and the darkness inside his gift comes into disturbingly detailed focus.
Director Paolo Strippoli elegantly weaves a tapestry of contrasts and moral ambiguities that are mirrored in the film’s striking cinematography and production design. The Holy Boy thoughtfully contemplates the place of pain in our lives, matching its melancholic beauty with more than enough spine-chilling spectacle.
Screenings & Events
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Media
Film Credits
- Domenico Procacci, Laura Paolucci, Ines Vasilevic, Stefano Sardo
- Jacopo Del Giudice, Paolo Strippoli, Milo Tissone
- Federico Palmerini
- Cristiano Di Nicola
- Michele Riondino, Paolo Pierobon, Romana Maggiora Vergano, Sergio Romano, Anna Bellato, Sandra Toffolatti, Roberto Citran, Giulio Feltri
- Fandango, Vision Distribution, Nightswim
Sponsors
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Wind, Talk to Me Vetre, pričaj sa mnom
Synopsis
Returning to his family’s country home for his grandmother’s birthday, filmmaker Stefan Djordjević brings along his camera, hoping to complete a film he’d be making about his mother—a project tragically interrupted by her passing. While en route on the rainsoaked back roads, he accidentally hits a stray dog. Guilt-ridden, he decides to bring her along and nurse her back to health.
Enlisting the help of his family to play themselves, Djordjevic blends footage of his late mother with staged, modern-day scenes of his relatives’ remembrances to create an intimate, tender tribute to her life and memory. Featuring a winning cast of characters, and an impeccable canine performance, all set against the backdrop of the bucolic Serbian backwoods, Wind, Talk to Me is a vulnerable, moving work of docufiction that reflects, remembers, and grieves through its art.
Screenings & Events
There are currently no upcoming screenings of this film.
Standby Only? Learn when new tickets get released by signing up for our ticket availability email list!
Media
Film Credits
- Stefan Ivančić, Stefan Djordjevic, Ognjen Glavonić, co-produced by: Vanja Jambrović, Jožko Rutar, Miha Černec
- Stefan Djordjević
- Tomislav Stojanović, Dragan von Petrovic
- Marko Brdar
- Negrica Djordjevic, Stefan Djordjevic, Bosko Djordjevic, Djordje Davidovic, Budimir Jovanovic, Ljiljana Jovanovic, Marina Davidovic, Ana Petrovic, Vidak Davidovic, dog Lija
- Ivan Judaš
- Non-Aligned Films (Serbia), co-produced by: Katunga (Serbia), SPOK Films (Slovenia), Restart (Croatia), Staragara (Slovenia)
Sponsors
Program Patron
Robert and Penelope Steiner Family Foundation
212 W Van Buren St., Suite 400
