Fireflies Get Lost in the Woods

During a summer camp in the woods, Antimo plays happily with his friends. At sunset, the boy scout leaders lead him and the other children deep into the woods to face a test of courage: the children are separated from one another and must reach the base camp at night, with the aid of two tools only: a compass and a flashlight. While the children try to navigate through the darkness of the woods, the boy scout leaders hide among the trees in disguise, as monsters, ready to scare them. When Antimo sees one of the monsters in front of him he runs away in terror, tumbling down a slope. The boy finally reaches the camp by dawn and discovers it was all a prank. He is celebrated by the group for having passed the test but something inside him is irreparably damaged.

Director’s statement
This film is based on a personal experience. I want to shed light on a certain way of understanding childhood and adulthood, on values ​​and behaviors tied to a specific canon of masculinity, which often is harmful to those who endure them. The world depicted in this film is shaped by a younger perspective, the only one through which I feel it makes sense to tell this story. I find animation to be the perfect medium for deeply exploring a child's emotions and graphically representing their troubled state of mind. Animation would also allow the audience to identify with the character and be really part of his difficult experience. The style is influenced by expressionism and noir. Technique is 2D digital animation, with backgrounds done on paper in ecoline technique, a watercolor I have been using since early on in my creative experience. Spots of color also for the characters, semi-transparent, with simple outlines, evanescent presences in the solid context of the surrounding forest.