Cinema, special event at #Giffoni55 with “Paternal Leave”

Exposing the fragility of human beings forced to deal with their own actions: this is the spirit of “Paternal Leave”, the film written and directed by Alissa Jung, a special event of Giffoni#55, scheduled from 17 to 26 July. The film, presented by Vision Distribution, will be screened on 24 July in Sala Truffaut, in the presence of the director and Luca Marinelli , who will answer the jurors' questions. Leo is 15 years old and grew up in Germany without ever knowing her father. When she discovers his identity, she decides to set out to find him and arrives on a deserted beach on the Italian coast, in a kiosk closed for the winter. There she meets Paolo, who is taken aback by her sudden arrival. The meeting destabilizes him, reopening dormant wounds and calling into question the fragile balance of his new family. At first, Leo is only looking for answers, but soon the desire to belong takes over. In the days that follow, a bond is created between father and daughter made of hesitations and small steps, but their connection, still fragile, is soon put to the test. Faced with the shadows of the past and the uncertainties of the present, both will be forced to redefine what it really means to be part of the other's life. "Paternal Leave" is a film about the stumbles of being human, about love, about family, but above all it is a film about being honest with yourself, about having the courage to look at who you are. A deep and introspective look that fits perfectly into the theme chosen for this edition of Giffoni, "Becoming Humans", to explore what it really means to be human today and how we can become more aware of our role and our responsibilities, through a constant tension towards change to be faced with awareness and without fear.

Why does a father reject his daughter? The question, which he hadn't asked himself as a twenty-year-old, writing off his pregnant friend as a "youthful mistake", Paolo must ask himself again when fifteen-year-old Leo (the excellent Juli Grabenhenrich ) arrives from Germany in the Romagna winter to ask him to account for her disappearance. This is the crux of the first work by actress (and wife of Marinelli, to whom she entrusted the role of Paolo) Alissa Jung. The theme is addressed with grace but at the same time with an extreme rigor that does not allow for easy escape routes or superficial explanations. A comparison, without judgment or prejudice, on the responsibility of fathers. The cast also includes Arturo Gabriellini, Gaia Rinaldi and Joy Falletti Cardillo. A production by The Match Factory & Wildside , a Fremantle group company, in collaboration with Vision Distribution, Rai Cinema and in collaboration with Sky.