Desideria Rayner

A turbulent mosaic of intertwined stories amidst the inescapable Italian heat.

In her early forties, Sofia lives in the mountains, isolated from the world, a place where even basic Internet technology seems to be an unknown entity. She runs an old farmhouse, located at the highest point outside the village, an age-old structure that she has converted into a holiday farm, whilst taking tending to her cows, her curative herbs and producing special milk used for the making top-quality Parmesan. One day, a foreigner from a well-known telecommunications company shows up. He considers that particular location the ideal spot to erect a cellphone repeater, a tower that will bring progress not only to Sofia, but to the whole area… How can ancient customs, peaceful silence and recipes coexist with the inevitable approach of new technologies which can improve our lives?

Gioia has just turned 18. She lives with her father Bruno in a small country village where she works as a shepherdess. They live very simply yet harmoniously with the villagers. Their lives are disrupted when Bruno gives in once again and once too many to his gambling addiction, in spite of his efforts to quit. Gioia will have to follow him to a faraway town, where he will be treated in a specialized center. This will radically change her existence, forcing her to abandon the safety of the village, her friends and her habits. She will be all by herself to support her father, in his journey for a better life.

Nic, Leo, Andrea and Raff determine their own gender identities. Each of their gender biographies is different, but the societal barriers to their social, physical and legal changes are the same. Together they are strong.

Alma, Jean and Sebastiano, the children of divorced parents, arrive in Rome from Paris on a visit to their father. During a holiday, the family’s tensions come to the surface.

Paolo and Maria are two ordinary newlyweds who live just outside their town. One morning Paolo goes out to buy some fish and doesn't come home. Down in the main square, a woman has had a valuable necklace snatched by a teenager on a lark. When the thief gets away, Paolo, whose path has crossed that of the woman and the townspeople, is accused by the victim of pulling off the heist. He tries to run away but is picked up by a cop and taken to a basement, where the policeman orders him not to move and await his return.

A long love story, seen through the memories of one young couple. The journey through the years of two individuals, united, divided, happy, unhappy, deeply in love, or in love with others, in a single stream of emotions and shades of feeling. Over the course of the film, he learns that love can indeed last, while she learns to live with nostalgia.

Professor Biondi is a depressed scientist. After his wife's death, he lives isolated from the world in the Nevada desert, near Area 51. He supposedly works on a top-secret project for the US government, but in actuality, he spends his days on the couch, listening to the sound of the Universe. His only contact with the outside world is Stella, who organizes alien-themed weddings for tourists on the prowl for extra-terrestrials. One day the Professor receives a message from Naples: his dying brother is entrusting him with his two children, so that they may live with him in America.

Salvo, a ruthless Sicilian Mafia hit man, changes his priorities after being involved in a bloody ambush.

Actor turned director Luigi Lo Cascio stars as the talented architect and fervent environmentalist Michele who has moved from Palermo to his ideal city, Siena. He holds a successful job and is living out a dream experiment of functioning one year without running water or electricity. Not surprisingly, he also displays a passionate opposition to cars and driving. One evening, after being forced to borrow his boss’ car in order to collect a colleague for a work function, Michele’s life takes an unexpected turn. In the blinding rain Michele hits something he cannot identify. After leaving a note on a parked car he believes he damaged, he continues down the road only to come across a dead body a few miles down which he later discovers belongs to one of Siena’s most important luminaries. Michele immediately calls the police, but in doing so, he unwittingly brings intense suspicion on himself as his uncertainty raises more questions than he has answers for.

Luca and Gustav, two men in their 30s, have been a stable couple for eight years. Nothing to get worked up about in a western European country, you would think – and you’d be wrong. Even in Euroland there are places where the acknowledgment of the basic civil rights of same-sex couples is a hot issue. Suddenly, Gustav’s and Luca’s quiet private life has been turned upside down. When the Italian center-left coalition initiates legislation about same-sex partnerships in Italy, a national debate is triggered instantly. In a matter of days it turns into the hottest political and cultural issue on the national agenda while intolerant homophobic attacks increase dramatically.