La repubblica dei ragazzi

An eighteen-year-old boy is released from an institute for minors with no family support, and for the first time tastes the bittersweet flavor of freedom; an imprisoned mother longs to go back and start all over again. These are the characters taken from the real world and transferred into a film that is first of all a shadowing of human beings, of their hopes and little acts of cowardice. But it is also the story of a time of waiting, of a soul going around in circles, a coming of age in a desolate and oppressive, marginal context that becomes a character in its own right.

Gioia has just turned 18. She lives with her father Bruno in a small country village where she works as a shepherdess. They live very simply yet harmoniously with the villagers. Their lives are disrupted when Bruno gives in once again and once too many to his gambling addiction, in spite of his efforts to quit. Gioia will have to follow him to a faraway town, where he will be treated in a specialized center. This will radically change her existence, forcing her to abandon the safety of the village, her friends and her habits. She will be all by herself to support her father, in his journey for a better life.

Armony, a 55-year-old solitary truck driver, finds himself taking responsibility for his six-year-old niece Carlotta after the disappearance of his sister. By his side are Pamela, an elderly transgender woman, and Jenny, a neighbor who is expecting a baby. When social services threaten to take the child away, Armony is forced to fight with all his strength to obtain legal guardianship.