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ALIEN FOOD

by Giorgio Cugno

synopsis

Who are we – when nobody is watching? What are our fantasies and phobias – if we don’t share them? After many years in a protected psychiatric community, Alberto (40) comes to stay with Vicky’s (12) family. As a vulnerable adult, Alberto divides his time between his old therapeutic community, his work, and adapting to the rhythms and boundaries of his new ‘home’. Alberto silently tries to escape his pharmacological therapy by not taking his pills. For years, they have helped him control his “demons”, but they have also overshadowed his instincts and emotions. Vicky loves science fiction and is very different from her peers. In her world, alien, distant planets are something to discover. Vicky notices that Alberto hides his pills at the dinner table, so Alberto shares this secret for the first time. From this moment on, their bond grows stronger. Alberto works part-time at a place that collects old PCs and electronics, recovering and recycling them. Here, he secretly saves private images and video files on his own hard drive, glimpses of other people’s lives that become Alberto’s personal “social network”, making him feel less alone. As these glimpses begin to merge with his own imagination and visions of the new world he inhabits, Alberto’s daily life becomes more difficult to navigate. Vicky shares her studies of the neighbouring mountain with him, the summit of Mount Musiné, which she considers as magical. As Vicky’s storytelling supports Alberto in his quiet revolt, she and the mountain will lead him to confront reality, and perhaps for the last time, the ghosts that were buried by his state of chemical numbness for so many years - starting from the horizon that he would like to, but cannot, cross. Can their friendship of reality and fantasy co-exist, without posing true danger to both Alberto and Vicky?

original title: Alien Food
country: Italy, Denmark
year: 2023
genre: fiction
directed by: Giorgio Cugno
film run: 108'
release date: IT 10/01/2023
screenplay: Giorgio Cugno
cast: Giorgio Cugno, Victoria Mannoni, Nathalie Francone, Gabriele Rossi, Giulia Mercandino, Simonetta Ainardi, Massimo Valz Brenta, Maria Luisa Macchia, Gianmario Marras, Giovanni Foresti, Fabrizio Rosso, Antonio Fais, Lorena Taricco, Ugo Zamburru, Giampiero Abate, Loredana Fichera, Enrico Rambaud, Domenico Gerbaudo, Elyas Archillia, Vincenzo Leuzzi
cinematography by: Igor Nogougic
film editing: Giorgio Cugno
costumes designer: Francesca Cibischino
music: Smokefade
producer: Giorgio Cugno, Valeria Richter
production: Ganglio Film

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