La mela bacata
Pamela is a first-year high school student who lives in a small coastal town in the Puglian province. She has an inseparable friend named Enrica, a room with stuffed animals and pictures, and a soft spot for a classmate who lives in the house across the street. In short, a girl like any other, except that she is the daughter of two female parents, Luisa and Adriana, who are as much in love as they are caring and affectionate toward their child. Two educated and sensitive mothers, well inserted in the social context, but powerless in the face of the prejudice of their peers who slowly make the fruit of their union the target of backbiting and nastiness The plot unfolds precisely on the cre- scendo of harassment and abuse, which the poor girl is forced to endure, guilty only of living in a context where being different is synonymous with indecent and shameful. The short begins precisely by framing Torio, the neighbor across the street capable of making our protagonist's heart flutter and Pamela discussing, with the naiveté of their age, the Poetry of Leopardi. Once home, it will be Pamela who accordingly realizes that a wormed apple is a rotting apple. At the supermarket, the viewer will first meet the 3 bullies and their friend Torio -secretly attracted to Pamela, but unable to escape the heinous logic of the pack- when they, vulgarly and boorishly, allude at the girl's bottom and at her mothers' sexual tendencies. At the bar, where the two friends are wont to spend some of their free time, the escalation of the provocations is consummated, when the three bullies move on to physical harassment, going so far as to put out a cigarette on Pamela's shirt and pouring a glass of cola on her head. Only the intervention of Carmelo, a kind and brave waiter, prevents the situation from escalating further. The physical violence reaches a climax when, a few days later, to retaliate for the affront they suffered, the bullies involve an older boy who, in turn not up to the task of intimidating Carmelo, goes so far as to stab him in the leg, to the dismay of onlookers and of Pamela and Enrica. Boarding the bus on her return from school, now approaching summer vacation, Pamela discovers to her dismay that both her travel pass and her cell phone have been stolen. Torio caringly pays for her ticket, and once home, the moms promise to give her a new cell phone. That same evening, however, again Torio knocks on Pamela's door and, without much pleasantries, returns her cell phone. Unfortunately, even where physical bullying fails, psychological violence can exert its most nefarious effects. So, while Enrica and Pamela are at the beach having carefree fun in the water, the usual bullies catch up with the girls and rip Pamela's swimsuit off, then throw it onto the beach. The girl, as she runs to cover herself with a towel is filmed by Torio's own cell phone. Heartbroken and disappointed, Pamela, as she rides the bus home, cannot hold back her tears. But once she arrives home, the world collapses on her, discovering that the footage in which she appears unclothed is now on the Internet and catalyzing lewd and irreverent comments. Unable to bear it any longer, she sits at her desk and writes a poignant farewell note to her mothers who love her so much and whom she loves so much. She puts her favorite stuffed animal in her backpack and slips out the window, on her way to her beloved sea. Here on the highest cliff she will stay to watch the moon reflected on the water, until she launches herself into the void, crashing onto the rocks below. While Enrica vibrates the cell phone that Pamela has deliberately left on her desk, we see only the background of the cliff, from which peeps the stuffed animal that accompanied her on her last journey, toward liberation from a hypocritical world incapable of understanding that love has no boundaries or gender. The quality and originality of the short film " La Mela Bacata" is an authentic, original project which deals with the theme of the rainbow family and the consequences that on a psychological level spill over to children in a small and provincial society such as the one described in which anyone different is not accepted but rather seen as a being abnormal. - From an artistic and cultural point of view, the film project fits into a very current social issue of bullying. From a technical point of view, the short film was shot in 4 k, with 3 di- verse cameras and the use of a drone. From the artistic point of view, the short film featured professional actors of Apulian origin, the involvement of some students from the Luigi Santarelli School Institute in Bari as bullies and protagonists; several Apulian workers as sound engineers, set design department, video and lighting department, editing, makeup and wigs. As for the music, it was composed specifically for this project, the same goes for the final song. In relation to the mission of Apulia Film Commis- sion, the project fully reflects what the objectives are...such as that of promoting and supporting the development of the film and audiovisual industry in Apulia, incentivizing the realization of film and audiovisual productions in the regional territory, since the filming was all carried out in the Bari territory. In addition, AFC since it aims to enhance film and audiovisual culture, the BACATA APPLE project created a link between the creative sector and the local economy by promoting employment in the sector, and the training of new talents as in the case of our protagonist.
- Runtime
- 20m
- Released
- 2025
Details
Release year: 2025
Storyline
Pamela is a first-year high school student who lives in a small coastal town in the Puglian province. She has an inseparable friend named Enrica, a room with stuffed animals and pictures, and a soft spot for a classmate who lives in the house across the street. In short, a girl like any other, except that she is the daughter of two female parents, Luisa and Adriana, who are as much in love as they are caring and affectionate toward their child. Two educated and sensitive mothers, well inserted in the social context, but powerless in the face of the prejudice of their peers who slowly make the fruit of their union the target of backbiting and nastiness The plot unfolds precisely on the cre- scendo of harassment and abuse, which the poor girl is forced to endure, guilty only of living in a context where being different is synonymous with indecent and shameful. The short begins precisely by framing Torio, the neighbor across the street capable of making our protagonist's heart flutter and Pamela discussing, with the naiveté of their age, the Poetry of Leopardi. Once home, it will be Pamela who accordingly realizes that a wormed apple is a rotting apple. At the supermarket, the viewer will first meet the 3 bullies and their friend Torio -secretly attracted to Pamela, but unable to escape the heinous logic of the pack- when they, vulgarly and boorishly, allude at the girl's bottom and at her mothers' sexual tendencies. At the bar, where the two friends are wont to spend some of their free time, the escalation of the provocations is consummated, when the three bullies move on to physical harassment, going so far as to put out a cigarette on Pamela's shirt and pouring a glass of cola on her head. Only the intervention of Carmelo, a kind and brave waiter, prevents the situation from escalating further. The physical violence reaches a climax when, a few days later, to retaliate for the affront they suffered, the bullies involve an older boy who, in turn not up to the task of intimidating Carmelo, goes so far as to stab him in the leg, to the dismay of onlookers and of Pamela and Enrica. Boarding the bus on her return from school, now approaching summer vacation, Pamela discovers to her dismay that both her travel pass and her cell phone have been stolen. Torio caringly pays for her ticket, and once home, the moms promise to give her a new cell phone. That same evening, however, again Torio knocks on Pamela's door and, without much pleasantries, returns her cell phone. Unfortunately, even where physical bullying fails, psychological violence can exert its most nefarious effects. So, while Enrica and Pamela are at the beach having carefree fun in the water, the usual bullies catch up with the girls and rip Pamela's swimsuit off, then throw it onto the beach. The girl, as she runs to cover herself with a towel is filmed by Torio's own cell phone. Heartbroken and disappointed, Pamela, as she rides the bus home, cannot hold back her tears. But once she arrives home, the world collapses on her, discovering that the footage in which she appears unclothed is now on the Internet and catalyzing lewd and irreverent comments. Unable to bear it any longer, she sits at her desk and writes a poignant farewell note to her mothers who love her so much and whom she loves so much. She puts her favorite stuffed animal in her backpack and slips out the window, on her way to her beloved sea. Here on the highest cliff she will stay to watch the moon reflected on the water, until she launches herself into the void, crashing onto the rocks below. While Enrica vibrates the cell phone that Pamela has deliberately left on her desk, we see only the background of the cliff, from which peeps the stuffed animal that accompanied her on her last journey, toward liberation from a hypocritical world incapable of understanding that love has no boundaries or gender. The quality and originality of the short film " La Mela Bacata" is an authentic, original project which deals with the theme of the rainbow family and the consequences that on a psychological level spill over to children in a small and provincial society such as the one described in which anyone different is not accepted but rather seen as a being abnormal. - From an artistic and cultural point of view, the film project fits into a very current social issue of bullying. From a technical point of view, the short film was shot in 4 k, with 3 di- verse cameras and the use of a drone. From the artistic point of view, the short film featured professional actors of Apulian origin, the involvement of some students from the Luigi Santarelli School Institute in Bari as bullies and protagonists; several Apulian workers as sound engineers, set design department, video and lighting department, editing, makeup and wigs. As for the music, it was composed specifically for this project, the same goes for the final song. In relation to the mission of Apulia Film Commis- sion, the project fully reflects what the objectives are...such as that of promoting and supporting the development of the film and audiovisual industry in Apulia, incentivizing the realization of film and audiovisual productions in the regional territory, since the filming was all carried out in the Bari territory. In addition, AFC since it aims to enhance film and audiovisual culture, the BACATA APPLE project created a link between the creative sector and the local economy by promoting employment in the sector, and the training of new talents as in the case of our protagonist.