«Segnali di vita» by Leandro Picarella is now available on the Swiss VOD plattforms myfilm and filmingo.
«The setting is the village of Lignan in the Aosta Valley, where the night is truly dark and there is an observatory. This is where the astrophysicist and Milanese Paolo retreats. He is a “runaway”. Alone and on his own, he agrees to look after the station in winter. His sparse luggage includes a model of a tardigrade, a single-celled organism that can play dead, but can also adapt to its surroundings. And there is also Arturo, Paolo’s robot and conversation partner – at least for the time being. Because the telescope breaks down and Paolo is forced to do a survey, which reluctantly brings him, the scientist, to the people of Lignan.
The director, Sicilian Leandro Picarella, also lived in Lignan for six months and gained the trust of the people. On this basis, he was able to realize the film. The result is a sensitive mutual approach between the scientist and the people in the mountains, which becomes an intimate encounter where trust, care and friendship develop and Paolo the bear is able to open up and return the affection of the mountain people in his own way.
The film convinced the jury because it develops a pull that also draws the viewers in. They join Paolo’s journey and become part of the lives of the people in the mountains. » (Jury’s laudatio, Bergwelten Filmfestival Stans).