Private Project

NINFA

LOGLINE - After futile protest videos on TikTok, a rebellious and lonely girl makes a pact with a Nymph possessing magical and malevolent powers, to save the forest of her town.

SYNOPSIS - Dafne (17), standing at the entrance of a forest, broadcasts a live video on TikTok where she vents her anger and disappointment against the mayor of the city, who is promoting the felling of trees to build a mega shopping center.
The video doesn't gain any traction, and the next day, in Dafne's class, everyone is busy admiring a TikTok video of a hip-hop dance posted by Alessia (17), the model student and daughter of the mayor. Although initially the teacher in class seems to be on Dafne's side regarding the protests, she turns out to be her antagonist.
On the same day, while Dafne is alone tearing down the mayor's election posters in the town's streets, she is secretly approached by Alessia, who orders her to stop defaming her father, the mayor, and then physically attacks her.
Dafne returns to the forest and ventures among the trees, where she encounters the magical nymph, who turns out to be her only friend. The nymph proposes that they challenge Alessia to a dance-off, leveraging the nymph's magical and superior dancing abilities.
Alessia eagerly anticipates facing Dafne and agrees to go alone to the forest at dusk.
She finds a changed Dafne, no longer disfigured, and ready to defeat her face to face.
The Mayor, devastated by the disappearance of his daughter, begins to doubt his own mental health, which reflects on the deteriorating condition of the town. He goes beyond the police investigations to uncover what he would never dare to imagine.

  • Antonio Cofano
    Director
  • Fausto Romano
    Director
  • Fausto Romano
    Writer
  • Antonio Cofano
    Writer
  • Antonio Cofano
    Producer
  • Sofia Giannini
    Key Cast
    "Dafne"
  • Sofia Palmieri
    Key Cast
    "Alessia"
  • Ermelinda Emma Bircaj
    Key Cast
    "Nymph"
  • Piergiorgio Martena
    Key Cast
    "Mayor"
  • Nicola Pertino
    DOP
  • Salvatore Versace
    Original Soundtrack
  • Sandra De Santis
    Set Design
  • Paola Rizzo
    Make up
  • Lilian Indraccolo
    Costume Design
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    NINFA
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    fantasy, horror, drama, student, young-adult
  • Runtime:
    15 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    January 1, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    11,000 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Italy
  • Country of Filming:
    Italy
  • Language:
    Italian
  • Shooting Format:
    6K Super 35
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Istituto Superiore Enrico Medi di Galatone
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Distribution Information
  • Aries Film
    Distributor
    Country: Italy
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Antonio Cofano, Fausto Romano

Fausto Romano is a director, actor, and writer of Salento origins. As a writer and short films' performer, he has already achieved success with the Best Short Film award at the European Film Festival for "San Vitu Rock," and selections at the Venice Film Festival and the Golden Globes with "La Giraffa senza gamba" as well as the Fellini Award with "Cratta." He received professional training at the Silvio D'amico National Academy of Dramatic Arts in Rome and has published three novels, a collection of short stories, and one of haikus. Today, he resides between Italy, Spain, and Portugal.

Antonio Cofano is a director and creative producer, as well as a founding partner of the production company Yellow, based in Milan. He obtained a Master's degree in Serial Development from the Luchino Visconti Civic School in Milan, sponsored by Netflix. He is a director of commercials and short films, and collaborates as a story-editor with Italian and European entities, both in the realm of fiction feature films and documentaries, as well as television series. His short films have been selected for internationally renowned festivals such as the Dusseldorf FilmFest and the European Film Festival.

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Director Statement

The entire creative process of "Ninfa" aimed to merge two seemingly distant worlds. The tangible and concrete world of a high school situated in a small provincial town in Southern Italy, and that of a fantastical legend that has been told for two centuries and has deep roots in that very territory. The contrast between these two worlds was infused into every aspect of the short film's production and materialized in the character of the protagonist, Dafne, and her transformation from a model student to a vengeful nymph.
The atmosphere recreated in the film seeks to immerse the viewer in the protagonist's world and her obsessive desire for revenge against her antagonist, Alessia, with the goal of saving what is most dear to her, the forest of her town.
The fusion of the two worlds, real and fantastical, is characterized in the dance, a true weapon of consensus and adulation by Alessia, but at the same time, the divine and cruel power of the nymph.