Nicola Pertino

Movies

Where Life Begins
"A" Camera Operator
An ultra-orthodox Jewish family from Aix-les-Bains comes to a farm in southern Italy for a brief stay every year to carry out a sacred mission: harvesting citrons. Here Elio, the farm owner, meets Esther, the rabbi’s daughter, who is tired of the constraints imposed by her religion. Through this relationship, Esther will understand the importance of freedom and find her path, and, in the same way, Elio will find the peace he had lost for a long time.
The Man With the Flower in His Mouth
Assistant Camera
A train station in Sicily. There are two people in the waiting room: one is “the man with the flower in his mouth” in the film's title, who has confronted and threatened a mysterious woman outside the station. The other is “the peaceful customer,” who missed his train because of presents for the women in his family which hindered him as he ran and made him trip on the train tracks. The man with the flower in his mouth has helped the peaceful customer and immediately establishes a relationship of trust and empathy with him. The two recount their lives, but whereas the peaceful man talks about his frustrations, the man with the flower in his mouth keeps steering the conversation toward just one topic: death. Everything seems wrapped in mystery, starting with the identity of the woman outside the station...
I Hate Summer
Assistant Camera
Three families end up in the same rented house. Throughout the summer, they become friends and rediscover how to enjoy life.
My Home, in Libya
Cinematography
Filming in her grandparents’ home near Padova in Italy, the director identifies a map of places belonging to their past. Antonio was born in Libya when it was an Italian colony, and he lived in Tripoli where he married Narcisa. They were suddenly forced to leave the country in 1970 just after Gaddafi’s coup. With the help of a young Libyan contacted on social media, Martina collects images of her grandparents’ “hometown” today. As they exchange pictures and chats, their relationship grows, the web allowing them to slowly overcome the physical and cultural boundaries that separate their lives, bringing the audience into a world the media has no access to.
Due piccoli italiani
Assistant Camera
The daring journey through Europe of two somewhat naive friends, Salvatore and Felice, fleeing a small town in Puglia, who find themselves catapulted to Rotterdam and then to Iceland. For the first time in their lives they will discover what it means to feel alive and happy. Through some mishap and with the help of the generous and extravagant Anke, they will overcome their fears and inhibitions. They will be overwhelmed by life, discovering the joy of existing and of experiencing and receiving affection and love in a strange triangle of relationships typical of a 'modern family', bizarre and reassuring at the same time.
Mattia sa volare
Assistant Camera