ALONE WITH HER DREAMS (aka PICCIRIDDA)

PICCIRIDDA (LITTLE ONE) is not a true story, but it is inspired by countless stories really happened in those years and in those places, and it is obviously a denunciation of events that happen constantly in any part of the globe.
In this direction, I’ve tried to never miss an opportunity to emphasize how this story, set in the past of our Italy, is a current, symbolic and emblematic story, now more than ever. Because at every latitude and in every epoch, childhood, understood as the age of vulnerability but also as the age of formation and openness to all possibilities, can suffer violence and abuse.
The saturated tones of Sicilian atmospheres are for me the perfect setting for a story with a high dramatic content that describes a reality common to many children of southern Italy during the 60s’: the phenomenon known as "passive emigration", as emigration seen from the perspective of those who remain in their country of origin and see their family members leaving in search of work. This theme can not but recall to the viewers of the current reality: migrant peoples, women and men from other countries who leave their lands, looking for a better life, entrusting their young children to those who remain, while waiting for a family reunification that is often not possible. It is an important current issue that must never stop finding its own space in the information world, by any means.
Going back to a late 60s’ Sicily allowed me to set my first feature in the places that I love, that I know and that have formed me, starting from a novel not only successful, but above all with a solid narrative system and unforgettable characters. Being Sicilian, as the author of the novel also is, my identification with the story was complete. I’ve found in the pages of Catena Fiorello an exact and sincere description of the flavours, aromas and colours of my land. This novel gave me the challenge to adapt it to the cinema: it has stimulated me to seek the same intensity of truth in bringing it to the big screen.
I intended to tell the story of Picciridda from the point of view of our little protagonist and from the perspective of her innocent eyes. Photography, set design and costumes were tools to build a strongly cinematic story, in the classic sense of the term. I’ve tried to valorise the harsh and luxuriant beauty of my land, confident that a story of universal cultural interest, combined with the fascinating Sicilian setting, will involve a wide and international audience.