International Diaspora Film Festival

Saturday 7 November, 7:00 PM

Venue

Shelter Me

Marco Simon Puccioni

Italy/France, 2007, 100 min.

In Italian with English subtitles

Featuring: Maria de Medeiros, Antonia Liskova, Mounir Ouadi

Winner, Best Actress: Antonia Liskova, Annecy Italian Film Festival 2007

Winner, Grand Prize, Annecy Italian Film Festival 2007

Winner, Best Actress: Maria de Medeiros, Antonia Liskova, Lecce Festival of European Cinema 2007

Winner, European Silver Ribbon, Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists 2008

Nominated, David Award for Best Actress: Antonia Liskova, David di Donatello Awards 2008

Co-presented with Inside Out Film Festival:

The film follows the emotional, sexual and socio-economic tensions which ensue from a couple's decision to take in an illegal runaway.

Upon their return home from a North African vacation, Italian lesbian couple Anna and Mara discover that they've inadvertently smuggled home with them Anis, a Morrocan stowaway. Anna's nurturing and altruistic side refuses to abandon the youth, inviting him to live in their home and arranging a job for him as stockboy at her brother's shoe warehouse. The idyllic sense of family is short-lived. Anis struggles to comprehend the lifestyle and values embraced by Anna and Mara as the couple is compelled to deal with familial disapproval, factory cutbacks and the death of a family member. Emotional, sexual and socio-economic tensions mount between the three characters, ultimately upsetting the balance in each of their lives.

Delving into issues raised by immigration, adolescence, sexual orientation, and financial security, Shelter Me locates the sources of solace we all seek.

Director's Biography:

Italian-born Marco Simon Puccioni moved to Los Angeles to study film at the California Institute of the Arts after having completed a degree in architecture in Rome. His debut film What You're Looking For earned critical acclaim in the international festival circuit and he went on to direct several shorts and documentaries. His works explore issues surrounding the intersection of class politics and gender identity. Puccioni co-founded the filmmaking collective 'Ring', and teaches film direction at the Academy of Fine Arts in Perugia.

Venue: Innis Town Hall, 2 Sussex Ave.,
Toronto M5S 1J5 (off St. George St., one block south of Bloor, Subway St. George)
$10 / $8 students and seniors