Along Italy's Adriatic coast, Alessandro drifts between his ambiguous friendship with Filippo and his growing attraction to Lena, a Croatian girl. As unspoken desires and hesitant gestures of intimacy begin to surface, he confronts his awakening impulses, gradually uncovering the shifting contours of his own identity during a summer night poised between the innocence of childhood and the turbulence of adolescence.
Year of production 2026 Length 20' Country Italy Shooting Format DCP Aspect Ratio 1.85:1 Dialogue Italian, English
Director Tommaso Acquarone ProductionApulia Film Commission Executive Production Limbo Film (Stefano Chiavarini and Lorenzo Pallotta) in collaboration with Waterclock (Andrea Garofalo) and The Piranesi Experience (Claudio Esposito) Writer Tommaso Acquarone Director of Photography Andrea Benjamin Manenti Editor Massimo Da Re Sound Designer Tommaso Barbaro Production DesignerAndrea Bianchi Casting Maria Carola Proietti Production Sound Ammit Darimdur Costume Designer Maria Concetta Pennella Make-UpLaura Jole Poerio VFX IMAGO VFX Cast Thomas Di Federico, Pietro Paolo Marziani, Vida Tunguz
Angelo azzurro is a production by Apulia Film Commission, realized in the frame of the REEL – A Cinematic Journey through Italy and Croatia, financed by Interreg VI-A Italy–Croatia Programme 2021–2027.
Director's Statement With Angelo azzurro, I explore the liminal space between childhood and adolescence. The protagonist grapples with the bodies of others and with the uncertainty of his own identity. Suspended between attraction and disorientation, he moves towards something he cannot yet name. It is a fragile terrain, where the body comes before language and desire becomes inseparable from the urge to grow, to become someone other than oneself. I chose to portray this transition through Alessandro's gaze. He observes the others, constantly measuring the distance that separates him from them. In shaping the film's visual language, I felt the need to remain as close as possible to their bodies, their silences, and the subtle mannerisms that reveal who they are. Throughout the shoot, while working within a carefully structured framework, I gave the young actors ample freedom. I wanted to embrace whatever might emerge in the moment, allowing space for their reactions and the way they naturally related to one another. My intention was to preserve the ambiguities of that age, without judging them or trying to define them.
