Tiffany Akpa Akouba

Autumn 2018: Elia, Ester, Ginevra, Ilenia, Loris, and Tiffany begin their school journey at the primary school of Pieve Torina, newly rebuilt on the site of the previous one, which—like much of the town—was destroyed by the earthquake that struck the Marche region in 2016. From learning to read and write to filming videos of their own, the film follows them over the course of five school years, concluding in the summer of 2023, as they prepare to move on to middle school. Amid separations and reunions, online classes and afternoons at the swimming pool, with the rubble still visible and reconstruction ongoing, the children grow up before the camera.