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QŪM

Becky is a girl with a great gift and many problems, struggling to find her place in the world. Hers is a family like any other, with its own secrets and difficulties. That morning they all see a man, dressed in black with a bowler hat and cane, watching them from the terrace of the house across the street. The presence of that disturbing figure along with a strange combination of circumstances triggers panic in the family. Paranoia continues to mount... yet Becky has a different feeling, as if in that vortex of growing madness that man on the roof may actually be there to help them, in a weird caring manner.
An unapologetic reflection on the disintegration of the concept of family in our time, which is also a philosophical and futuristic look at a hypothetical “last day” of Humanity.

  • Max Pietricola
    Director
    Genesi del nostro Tempo, Paradiso Perduto, Yeats is dead!
  • Max Pietricola
    Writer
    Genesi del nostro Tempo, Paradiso Perduto, Yeats is dead!
  • Emanuela Federici
    Writer
  • Fiorella Fagioli
    Producer
    Paradiso Perduto, Yeats is dead!
  • Vincenzo Pietricola
    Producer
  • Emanuela Federici
    Producer
  • Marika De Chiara
    Key Cast
    "Pamela"
  • Leslie Esposito
    Key Cast
    "Becky"
  • Fabrizio Mineo
    Key Cast
    "Mario"
  • Andrea Miranda
    Key Cast
    "Kha-Vir-El"
  • Filippo Salaris
    Key Cast
    "Nanni"
  • Marinella Scavone
    Key Cast
    "Lina"
  • Matteo Rea
    Director of Photography
  • Max Pietricola
    Music Composer
    Paradiso Perduto, Yeats is dead!
  • Max Pietricola
    Editor
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    QŪM
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    15 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    July 15, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    900 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Italy
  • Country of Filming:
    Italy
  • Language:
    Italian
  • Shooting Format:
    HDV
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • "Latina Scalo in Corto" short film festival
    Latina Scalo
    Italy
    August 30, 2024
    World Premiere
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Max Pietricola

Award-winning director and screenwriter (born in 1986) with a solid film background. Has written and directed short films, commercials, music videos and the (yet to be released) feature film “Blue Lavender”. He has worked on the sets of great masters as Quentin Tarantino, Florian Baxmeier and Enzo G. Castellari. In 2021 his script “Il Nemico di Roma” won the MIC (Italian Cultural Ministry) screenplays fund.

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Director Statement

The main body of this short film was shot in the city of Latina (ITALY) back in 2012, but due to various vicissitudes it has actually remained substantially incomplete and unpublished until early Summer 2024. The idea behind the story originates from a claustrophobic nightmare co-writer Emanuela Federici had had back in the days, which we decided to turn into a tale of tension and which I wanted to implant on a background inspired to the Christian mythology. The very title “QŪM” is an expression in the Aramaic language uttered by one of the characters in the short film and it's taken from the Gospel of Mark. The film - through the story of Becky, a girl with a great gift (and many problems), who struggles to find her place in the world - is meant to be an unapologetic reflection on the disintegration of the concept of family in today's society... and at the same time it is a philosophical and futuristic look at a hypothetical “last day” of Humanity.