Small Body
by Laura Samani
Synopsis
Logline
A grief-stricken young woman leaves her seaside village behind to try and free her stillborn baby’s soul, setting out on a perilous journey to a remote mountain sanctuary where she holds faith in a miracle.
Synopsis
Italy, 1900. Young Agata’s baby is stillborn and so condemned to Limbo. Agata hears about a place in the mountains, where infants can be brought back to life for just one breath, to baptize them and save their soul.
She undertakes a voyage with her daughter’s small body hidden in a box and meets Lynx, a solitary boy who offers to help her. They set off on an adventure which will enable both to come close to a miracle.
Specifications
Italy/Slovenia/France 2021 89mn 1:1.85 Italian dialect 1st Film
Original title: Piccolo Corpo
directed by
Laura Samani
produced by
Nadia Trevisan, Alberto Fasulo
with RAI Cinema
co-produced by
Thomas Lambert, Danijel Hočevar
Cast
Ondina Quadri (Lynx)
Celeste Cescutti (Agata)
Crew
Marco Borromei, Elisa Dondi, Laura Samani, Co-writers
Mitja Ličen, Cinematographer
Rachele Meliadò, Art Direction
Chiara Dainese, Editor
Loredana Buscemi, Costume design
Fredrika Stahl, Original music
Luca Bertolin, Sound recordist
Riccardo Spagnol, Sound design
Nathalie Vidal, Re-recording mixer
Festivals & Awards
2021
Cannes World Premiere – Critics’ Week in Competition
Montenegro Film Festival
Sarajevo Film Festival
TIFF – Contemporary World Cinema
Hamburg Film Festival
Annecy Italian Film Festival – Audience Award
Villerupt Italian Film Festival – Special Jury Mention
BFI London Film Festival – Special Commendation
Haifa Film Festival -Panorama
Montpellier – Cinemed- Students ‘ Award for best 1st feature
Busan International Film Festival – World Cinema
Warsaw Film Festival – Discoveries
Morelia Film Festival
Vancouver Film Festival
New Zealand International Film Festival
Scanorama Film Festival
Festa do Cinema Italiano (Lisbon) – Competition Best Film Winner
Stockholm Film Festival – Competition
Seville European Film Festival – Extraordinary Stories Award
Cambridge Film Festival
Thessaloniki Film Festival – Meet the Neighbors GOLDEN Alexander Award
Liffe Award Ljubljana – FIPRESCI Prize
Chéries, Chéris Film Festival France – Best Actresses Award for Celeste and Undine
Cairo Film Festival, SILVER PYRAMID, Best Director Award
REC Film Festival Tarragona – Best Debut Film, Special CineClub Jury Mention
2022
Dublin Film Festival – Best Filmmaker Award
Zinegoack Bilbao Queer Film Festival- Winner of the Best Feature
Santa Barbara Film Festival
Boulder Film Festival
Cartagena International Film Festival- Fictions from everywhere
Wisconsin Film Festival
International Film Festival of Uruguay
Seattle International Film Festival
Italian Film Festival in Tokyo
Crossing Europe Austria
Minneapolis St Paul Film Festival- Emerging Filmmaker Competition
DAVID DI DONATELLO AWARD for Best first feature film