Clementina is ten years old and spends the summer with her father in a country house filled with memories. Her mother has taken her backpack and left, leaving behind a void that no one has been able to fill. To protect his daughter, and himself, the father decides to turn that absence into a story, creating a world where reality merges with imagination and pain softens through play. In this invented universe, Clementina becomes Leila, a brave aviator unafraid to push beyond boundaries, while her father turns into Tonio, her loyal mission companion. The country house becomes a fortress to defend; a worn-out map reveals secret paths, and a mysterious enemy army rises as an obstacle to overcome. Their mission is both clear and enchanted: to find the mother and bring her home. Through this fairy tale, Clementina and her father learn to face together the wound of separation, transforming absence into a magical adventure that holds their deep bond, and the hope of rebuilding, at least in imagination, the unity and joy of when they were all together.
It was the holidays. Suddenly we were on our own. Her mother had gone off one morning in August. Her eyes were gleaming with tears. We saw her leave the house with a backpack. I was in my underpants with all my guilty feelings. My little girl was holding my hand and asking me where her Mummy was going. From that day I started to proceed by clumsy attempts of which I was often ashamed. I went on like that for a few days until we started drawing to escape from a reality that was too painful. Faced with the enormity of that question - where is Mummy? -I felt tiny. And I kept putting it off. The only thing I was capable of was building a game for her: my only way to keep my head above water. It was a selfish attempt to keep Clementina close to me. Leila is the sincere answer to pain. A separation is a tornadothat overwhelms everything. Everybody loses reason and believe they are right, there are no goodies or baddies. Everyone is wrong, everyone loses.
Director
Alessandro Abba Legnazzi, Clementina Abba Legnazzi, Giada Vincenzi
Story
Alessandro Abba Legnazzi, Clementina Abba Legnazzi, Giada Vincenzi
Screenplay
Alessandro Abba Legnazzi, Clementina Abba Legnazzi, Giada Vincenzi
Director of photography
Alessandro Abba Legnazzi, Clementina Abba Legnazzi
Original Music
Federico Mao
Sound
Alessandro Abba Legnazzi, Clementina Abba Legnazzi; Massimo Mariani (Post-produzione suono)
Altri credits
Stefano Barozzi (Color Correction)
Cast and characters
Clementina Abba Legnazzi, Giada Vincenzi, Alessandro Abba Legnazzi
Production Director
Francesca Riccardi
Executive production
Francesca Riccardi
Producer
Francesca Riccardi, Riccardo Annoni; Alessandro Del Vigna, Carotta Vigliani (produttori associati)
Production
Start, in associazione con Little Bear e Fare Alma Films
