Three boys

Bertinoro, 1972. Thirteen-year-old friends Carmelo, Michele and Salvatore, run away from home towards Ravenna, with the hope of boarding a ship that will take them to America.
The whole village mobilized to search for the three young boys. Now far away, after a long walk in the surrounding woods, they boarded the train that took them to Ravenna. At the port, however, they found something bigger than themselves: the side of the huge, inaccessible ship saw them forced to change their plans. Lost in the city, they will come up against their inexperience and a seemingly hostile world.
Three boys, the possibilities of life and escape as a choice or as a search for freedom.

  • Gianfranco Boattini
    Director
    Closed Box - A scatola chiusa, I was - Io ero, Milano marittima - Un amore oltre il tempo, Io Caterina
  • Gianfranco Boattini
    Writer
    Closed box - A scatola chiusa, I was - Io ero, Milano marittima - Un amore oltre il tempo, Io Caterina
  • Miller Gorini
    Writer
    Il male liquido, I was - Io ero, Milano marittima - Un amore oltre il tempo
  • Lodovico Lombardi
    Producer
    Potevo farmi santo, Il Moro, La sorpresa Io caterina, Milano marittima - Un amore oltre il tempo
  • Patrizio Orlandi
    Producer
    Otto marzo duemilaventi, Potevo farmi santo,
  • Alessandro Spinelli
    Key Cast
    "Carmelo "
  • Christian Dei
    Key Cast
    "Salvatore"
    Improvvisamente Natale, La proprietà dei metalli, La sorpresa
  • Marco Francisconi
    Key Cast
    "Michele"
    La sorpresa
  • Samuele Sbrighi
    Key Cast
    "Luigi "
    La ballata dei gusci infranti, Tutto liscio, Io ci sono
  • Anna Benedetta Sanfilippo
    Key Cast
    "Melina"
    Volevo farmi santo, Mimesi
  • Daniele Romualdi
    Key Cast
    "Gigiòn"
    Solo cose belle
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Tre ragazzi
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Genres:
    Education
  • Runtime:
    23 minutes 39 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    May 30, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    71,000 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Italy
  • Country of Filming:
    Italy
  • Language:
    Italian
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Gianfranco Boattini

A graduate in Architecture from Florence, with a Master's degree in Architecture for Film and Video from Inarch in Rome, he is an actor and director. He lives and works between Forlì and Rome. He has to his credit various experiences in the international film field as Scenographer, in Tim Burton's Sweetney Todd and Paul Haggis' Third Person, and Solo cose belle about K. Gianfreda. He has had various experiences as assistant director in R. Salvetti's Rwanda and A. Monti's Monkey boy. He wrote and directed several short films including in 2013 " CLOSED BOX, a scatola Chiusa", with which he won several international awards including Valdarno cinema Fedic, European indipendent Film festival, Madrid international Film festival, Fedic award, Sedicicorto film festival, Valdarno Cinema Fedic, and as best actor at M.I.F.Festival in Boston. He has worked on other short films including I was - Io ero, Io Caterina, H&S, Un amore oltre il tempo. Actorially a worked in various national productions, including 1992, L'ispettore Coliandro, Diabolik and Leonardo with masters such as Pupi Avati, Manetti Bros, M. turco. He studied screenwriting and acting with various professionals including Danny Lemmo, Michael Margotta, Matteo Tarasco, Steven Nathanson, Serafino Murri, Maurizio Schmidt.

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Director Statement

Three Boys is a tale about friendship, taking us back in time to when as kids we all thought at least once about running away with our best friends and going off to the future and adventure together. A project that actually encompasses several stories, the great union of Carmelo's family and the difficulties encountered in fitting into other social contexts. Immigration from the south to the north in the Italian 1960s-1970s. The search for freedom and emancipation typical of youth. The rurality of the suburb and the desire to find one's place in the world, even at the risk of losing one's closest loved ones. Although at first glance it may appear to be a straightforward and simple tale, it is precisely in the nuances of the dialogues, in the characterized characters that one finds the various layers of a tale that takes its cue from a true story.