‘Don't forget: we’re working people! We are a team!’ Dafne waves to her father Luigi encouragingly. Then she marches off to be on time for her job at the supermarket. Dafne has recently lost her mother – and Luigi his wife – in an accident. But whilst this 30-year-old, who was born with Down’s syndrome, is still managing to master her life with verve after the terrible disaster, her father sinks into a depression. It will take all the energy Dafne can muster to help him get back on his feet. Fortunately, headstrong Dafne happens to have a lot of it up her sleeve.
In Federico Bondi’s portrait of a family trying to cope with bereavement, the roles appear to be reversed. Neither Dafne’s experience of loss nor her genomic mutation can diminish her optimism. The more she tenderly cares for Luigi, the more he seems to struggle with his responsibilities as a father. In his second feature film, the Italian director gently reveals that coming-of-age is not necessarily a question of age and that, in the end, it doesn’t really matter who supports whom. The main thing is to stick together.