In a desolate Adriatic town abandoned to unbearable heat and sea pollution, 25-year-old Anita lives in isolation, drifting between work, compulsive scrolling and sleepless nights. Trapped in a monotonous routine, she reflects on the weight of the world’s injustices and the childhood dreams she has long since abandoned.
Her solitude is interrupted when Olivia, a frantic neighbor, asks for help rescuing an injured stray cat. Reluctantly, Anita steps outside for the first time in ages, facing the oppressive midday heat. What begins as an errand turns into a surreal journey, through silent streets, a gas station and a hidden veterinary clinic inside an deserted town. There, she finds herself in an underground room where men and women are knitting and embroidering. Invited to join, Anita hesitantly follows their rhythm, finding unexpected solace in the movement of her hands.
Drifting between wake and dreams, she finally falls asleep.
When the cat is finally treated and the two girls can leave, the distant sound of the sea calls to Anita. Ignoring Olivia’s warnings, Anita steps into the water, floating on her back as the sun sets,letting herself go at last.
Giulia Palaia studied architecture, graphic arts and design, moving between Venice, Paris and Milan. She approached cinema as an author, giving voice to a personal investigation, through the exploration of female figures in dialogue or in conflict with their own double. She wrote and directed two short films, Agriope and Due Madri. In 2023 she's been selected by IDM Film Funding to pursue a filmmaking mentorship she had with the script editor Isabella Weber. In 2024 she took part at the FortezzaDonna artistic residency at the Fortezza Fortress with the multimedia project Ius Sepulchri. She is now producing, together with producer Alessio Vasarin, her third short film, Tomorrow at dawn, and writing her feature film Delcisa.
Luca Bedini was born in Sassuolo, in 1981. After the degree in Communication Sciences, he started to work as a freelancer video maker and video journalist at the independent web TV, Fuori.Tv and Current Tv. In 2009 he undertook the Master "Documentary Development Campus", in which he perfected writing skills for documentaries. In 2012 he founded his own commercial production company Pongofilms and in 2016, Taiga, a production company specialized in documentaries. In 2022 he was selected for the IDS Academy Series, a training course for the development and production of documentary series. In January 2024, he participated in the jury of the short film section at Fipadoc. In June 2024 he was selected as a producer for the Italian leg of Emerging Producers.