Dafne [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
fiche film] is the second feature by Federico Bondi after his excellent debut, Black Sea [+lire aussi :
bande-annonce
fiche film], awarded at Locarno Film Festival in 2008. Produced by Marta Donzelli and Gregorio Paonessa for Vivo Film with RAI Cinema, the film is due to be presented in world premiere at next year’s Berlinale (7 to 17 February 2019), in the Panorama section.

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The film tells the story of Dafne, played by Carolina Raspanti, a 30-year-old woman with Down's syndrome, an exuberant and motivating force, who organises her own life but still lives with her parents, Luigi (Antonio Piovanelli) and Maria (Stefania Casini). When Maria suddenly dies, the family balance shatters and Luigi sinks into a depression, tormented by the idea of leaving his daughter alone when he passes away. Dafne, on the other hand – thanks to work and life-long friends – confronts grief with the unconsciousness of a child and the courage of a young woman, trying in vain to get something out of her father. Until one day, something unexpected happens: they decide to go on a trek together in the mountains to visit Mary's birthplace. Along the way, they discover numerous things about each other and both ultimately learn to overcome their limits.

Written and directed by Bondi from a screenplay written with Simona Baldanzi, Piero Basso joined the project as the director of photography and Stefano Cravero as editor, while Saverio Lanza isresponsible for the film’s original soundtrack, Massimo Cantini Parrini isin charge of costume design, Cristina Del Zotto and Alessandra Mura in charge of set design, Mirko Guerra ishandling live soundand Daniela Bassani,  Marzia Cordò, Stefano Grosso and Giancarlo Rutigliano arein charge ofsound and mix editing. "One day, a few years ago," explains Federico Bondi in his director's notes, "I saw an elderly father and his daughter with Down's syndrome holding hands at the bus stop. They were stood still, standing between the coming and going of cars and bystanders. They looked like heroes, two survivors. Dafne comes from that image and those emotions, the spark that drove me to delve deeper. I curiously entered a world I wasn’t familiar with and had the good fortune to meet Carolina Raspanti, with whom I built a fundamental friendship, not just in terms of the film, but also in terms of my life in general."

Dafne was produced with the contribution of MIBAC - Directorate General of Cinema as part of the Sensi Contemporanei Programme - Toscana per il Cinema and with the support of Regione Lazio and Unicoop Firenze. Under the patronage of AIPD – Associazione Italiana Persone Down e Comitato Siblings Onlus – Fratelli e sorelle di persone con disabilità (The Italian Association for People with Down’s Syndrome and the Onlus Siblings Committee – Brothers and Sisters of People with Disabilities).