15 Amore

Based on the director/writer’s own childhood experiences, this period drama is set in an idyllic rural Australia during World War II when two Italian POW’s, a Jewish German woman and her daughter are billeted with a farmer’s wife and her three children on an isolated farmstead. Told from the point-of-view of a young boy, the daily existence of the characters as they grow closer to one another, seems harmonious and carefree. Yet beneath this tranquility simmers war- induced trauma, fear and cynicism which inevitably erupts. A perceptive look at cultural difference, this beautifully photographed film avoids slipping into nostalgia and stereotype by staying focused on the characters’ motivations and conflicting emotional states. Cast: Lisa Hensley, Steve Bastoni, Domenic Galati, Tara Jakszewicz, Gertrude Ingeborg, Rhianna Griffith, Bill Hunter. Photography by John Borck. Music by Carlo Giacco.