Giulio has just turned eighteen and lives in the country with his parents. Once again he will spend the summer with his family, without ever leaving his home. In the house next door, uninhabited for years, Lia, a bold, grumpy and introverted twenty-year-old girl, arrives. Lia starts Giulio into some strange and increasingly dangerous games. Giulio is deeply attracted to her, but he still hasn't understood what she's hiding in that old abandoned house, where no one is allowed to enter.
International TitleThe Den Year of production 2021 Length 90min Country Italy Shooting Format Digital Aspect Ratio 1.37:1 Dialogue Italian
DirectorBeatrice Baldacci Producer Andrea Gori, Aurora Alma Bartiromo ProductionLumen Films Writer Edoardo Puma, Beatrice Baldacci Cinematographer Giorgio Giannoccaro Editor Isabella Guglielmi Production Designer Raffaele Lucci MusicValentino Orciuolo Sound Design Francesco Murano Costume Designer Ginevra Angiuli Story Editor for Lumen Films Andrea Paolo Massara Cast Irene Vetere, Lorenzo Aloi, Hélène Nardini, Elisa Di Eusanio, Paolo Ricci, Federico Rosati
Developed within the Biennale College Cinema programme 2020/21
Festival selections Venezia 78, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica 2021, Italy - World Premiere Alice nella Città 2021, Italy - Best Movie Award, Panorama Italia Competition L'Aquila Film Festival 2021, Italy Fabrique Du Cinéma Awards 2021, Italy - Best Actress Award (Irene Vetere) Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2022, USA Sofia International Film Festival 2022, Bulgaria Sehsüchte International Film Festival 2022, Germany - Best Feature Film Award Sopot Film Festival 2022, Poland Cinema Jove - International Film Festival Valencia 2022, Spain Adriatic Film Festival 2022, Italy - Best Feature Film Debut Award IMAGO - International Film Festival di Civitella del Tronto 2022, Italy - Best Italian Film Award, Best Actor Award for Lorenzo Aloi Corto e a capo - Premio Mario Puzo 2022, Italy Filmfestival Kitzbuehel 2022, Austria Seoul International Women's Film Festival 2022, South Korea Debut22 – Filmfestival Klosters 2022, Switzerland Porto Femme - International Film Festival 2022, Portugal - Best Feature Film Award Tirana Film Festival 2022, Albania - Best PerspecTIFF Award Marcello Italian Film Festival 2022, UK - Marcello Feature Award Calella Film Festival 2022, Spain - Best Director Award PerSo - Perugia Social Film Festival 2022, Italy BendFilm Festival 2022, USA Carthage Film Festival 2022, Tunisia Caminhos Film Festival 2022, Portugal Olhares do Mediterrâneo - Women's Film Festival 2022, Portugal Lublin Film Festival 2022, Poland - Special Mention RiverRun International Film Festival 2023, USA FEMCINE - Santiago Women’s Film Festival 2023, Chile - Best Feature Film Award Beach Film Festival 2023, Republic of North Macedonia
Director's Statement When I first thought of the film, I saw the image of a house in the countryside, a safe haven in which to take refuge.
In that enchanting place, Giulio and Lia play with their bodies, exploring the fragile boundaries between love, death and violence, trying to find their way into the unknown. Each gives the other what they can give. This encounter pushes them to face their fears and make them grow. Pain is the mysterious force that unites them.
The Den is not a concrete and real place, but that space where we go hiding ourselves when we don’t feel well. And where we hope someone will come searching for us.
