Dafne

Dafne is an energetic and self-confident young woman. Born with Down’s syndrome, she lives with her parents, but she seems to be the driving force of the family. In addition, she is in complete control of her own life: she is independent, she has a job, she chooses her friends and her entertainment, she knows who to flirt with and how to do it with subtlety. Following the sudden death of her mother, however, she has to confront her loss, along with her father’s depression and the challenges posed by this traumatic situation. So she takes her father on a journey that will be a farewell, a catharsis and a new beginning all in one. Federico Bondi focuses his calm, reserved story around Dafne—it is her character that creates the atmosphere and sets the temperature. Her extraordinary self-awareness, attentiveness, insight and sense of humor shatter the film’s apparent simplicity—a film that, while never falling into banal cliché and sentimentality, is transformed from a modest story into a commentary on the value of life and the meaning of loss.