Our Road

Money’s tight at home for Palermo teenagers Daniel, Desirée, and Simone. They dream of the approaching future when they can leave school and get a job, and they fantasize about what will become of their classmates—maybe some of them will end up as Mafia bosses?Their infinitely patient teacher Giovanni does his best to educate his unruly teenagers in their final year at school. He talks with them about mature subjects such as slavery and homosexuality, and shows a real and devoted interest in their world. In Our Road, which won the award for Best Italian Film at Biografilm Festival in Bologna, director Pierfrancesco Li Donni manages to enter the bubble of these teenagers’ playful world—always with great integrity. Sometimes he simply sets the camera on the ground next to the giggling kids. This lightheartedness contrasts starkly with the harsh reality of the future they are making plans for. In the closing 20 minutes we discover what has become of them a year later. (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)