Ciao Bambino
Director | Edgardo Pistone
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At the end of the summer of his nineteen years Attilio, a boy who lives in a working-class neighborhood of Naples, is tasked with protecting a young prostitute from the East. Attilio, without being able to openly admit it, falls in love with her. However, when his father is released from prison and is forced to repay a substantial debt, Attilio finds himself choosing between his love for the girl and his love for his father, putting his freedom and his life up to that point at stake.
Duration 97 minutes | Italy | Italian with English subtitles
Cast | Marco Adam, Anastasia Kaletchuk
Shot in striking black and white and reminiscent of early Fellini (especially I Vitelloni) and Pasolini (the Accatone period), this gritty realist coming-of-age drama announces a bright new talent in Italian cinema, Edgardo Pistone. Set in Naples, Ciao Bambino revolves around 17-year-old Attila and his four restless young friends trying to find their way in life. His father in debt, Attila must work to pay it off, drawing him into the underworld orbit and activities of a local crime boss named Martinelli. As he is told: “Some people inherit property, some inherit money. You’ve inherited your father’s troubles.” He ends up being forced to pimp a young prostitute named Anastasia, who is working to bring her faraway family to Europe. As their friendship blossoms into something more, both characters are forced into drastic action to try to escape increasingly perilous circumstances. But can they?
“Adults are the biggest adversaries of freedom because they don’t let adolescents enjoy being carefree”
Winner of the Best First Feature Award at the 19th Rome Film Festival, Ciao Bambino also won the prestigious Special Jury Prize in the First Feature Competition section at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival in Estonia.
Winner for the Best First Feature Award at the Rome Film Festival, this beautifully crafted, romantic crime story is an absolute gift from Edgardo Pistone. Pistone is a 35-year old Neapolitan director who previously walked away with the Best Director trophy in International Critics’ Week in Venice 77 for his short film Le mosche.