PATAGONIA (italienische OmU)

In the organizer's words:

by Simone Bozzelli, Italy 2023, 110 min.
With Andrea Fuorto, Augusto Mario Russi, Elettra Dallimore Mallaby

Yuri is 20 and lives with his aunt in a small village in Abruzzo. When he meets the entertainer Agostino at a children's birthday party, he is immediately electrified: Agostino is older, self-confident and fiercely independent. Yuri signs on as Agostino's assistant and sets off with him in a camper van. Their big destination: Patagonia, land of fire and boundless freedom. On their journey through southern Italy, a relationship develops between the self-sacrificing Yuri and the domineering Agostino with a clear division of roles, characterized by moments of closeness and great tension. When Agostino stops off at a trailer park where ecstatic raves are celebrated every night, Patagonia seems a long way off.

With searing images and a pulsating soundtrack, Italian director Simone Bozzelli's debut film tells the story of a forgotten youth for whom a life on the margins of society and in constant motion is the only way to satisfy their irrepressible hunger for sincerity and freedom. Carried by an uncompromising cinematic vision, respect for the characters and two overwhelming leading actors, "Patagonia" shows an ambivalent love as a consuming power play between tenderness and destruction. A raw road movie that was celebrated as a discovery in the Locarno competition. An exciting new voice in European queer cinema!