Three kids, three wars, one century of Italian trauma — animated with knives out for nostalgia.
Three different epochs through the gaze of three children: Zelinda, who loses her mother to the Spanish Flu during World War I and sees the specter of Nazism loom; Assunta, who lives during the Nazi occupation between bombings, raids, and executions; Icaro, who abandons the countryside during the Years of Lead (“Anni di Piombo”) and accepts a new life. A story across the difficulties and the troubles of the 20th century between memories, affection, nostalgia, and gratitude.
Direction
Massi's decade-spanning scratchboard animation, 14 years in making.
Cinematography
Every frame hand-etched — no digital shortcuts, pure tactile sorrow.
Writing
Caserio's anarchist father haunts like a ghost before the Fascists arrive.
Director
Simone Massi
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The 'Anni di Piombo' (Years of Lead) remain divisive in Italy — Massi grew up in this terror, making Icaro's chapter deeply personal.
The scratchboard technique mirrors how memory works: you can only reveal by destroying, scraping away darkness to find the image beneath.
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