Private Project

Crescendo

The friendship between two aspiring singers falls apart when their choir announces auditions for a prestigious academy.

  • Roberto Trainotti
    Director
  • Roberto Trainotti
    Writer
  • Sim Levi Tezel
    Writer
  • Giulia Baldi
    Writer
  • Pietro Michelini
    Producer
  • Simone Spes
    Key Cast
    "Thomas"
  • Pietro Moser
    Key Cast
    "Samuele"
  • Giacomo Henri Dossi
    Key Cast
    "Deimichei"
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Crescendo
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Runtime:
    14 minutes 46 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    January 11, 2025
  • Country of Origin:
    Italy
  • Country of Filming:
    Italy
  • Language:
    Italian
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Liceo Antonio Rosmini
Director Biography - Roberto Trainotti

Roberto Trainotti is a young director from Trentino, born in 2005. He developed his passion for cinema alongside his studies at a scientific high school, approaching it as a self-taught filmmaker. At the age of 16, he wrote and directed his first short film, which won the Schools Award and Best Actor Award at the Believe Film Festival. Upon finishing high school and facing the prospect of the academic world, he wrote and directed "Crescendo," his second short film. This work bridges his present life in the rural setting of a small mountain town with the looming future, destined to carry everyday life into the unknown.

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Director Statement

The world of Crescendo is one of missed normality: during an outing like many before, a boy sings mournfully about a magnum mysterium. The beers cooling in the corner are ignored, as is the friend behind him, always in the background. Amid the chaos at the start of rehearsal, talk of the audition fills the theater. It is a world where an obligation has descended upon Thomas and Samuele’s friendship, turning them into opposites, rivals, and eventually betrayers.

Crescendo was born from the need to process the fear of an uncertain, enormous, imminent, and invisible future. This future is barely tangible, revealed only through small hints: a line from one of the friends, a brief mention of the audition in the context of a refreshment break.

It is written in the fear etched into Samuele and Thomas, a fear strong enough to invade their routine and pull them apart to the point of no return.

At the crossroads of this fear, Thomas and Samuele take opposite paths. Thomas becomes obsessed, forgetting everything else: he ignores his friend, channeling his sense of competition into annoyed, sometimes provocative gestures. Samuele, on the other hand, is overwhelmed by fear and clings desperately to what remains of a present that seems to be slipping away — above all, his best friend.

It is only after betraying and then clashing with one another that they manage to find a synthesis of their two perspectives. Thomas realizes he must enjoy the present, stepping back to let it happen. Samuele, still scarred by the loss of his friend, is forced to confront his future, and he succeeds only when Thomas lets him go.

The blinding lights beyond the curtain deny the eye a view of what lies ahead, just as the song remains unknown, uncertain, and unresolved. Yet both Thomas, hidden behind the curtain, and Samuele, standing center stage, are at least a little more ready than before.