Demetra in Esilio

It’s summer in a big city. A mother and daughter, Daria and Lia, live together in an apartment. Daria no longer leaves the house: passionate about botany, she has recreated a small ecosystem of plants inside the apartment.
Lia, twenty-five, knows she cannot leave her mother alone for too long. She only goes out to buy food and take photographs.
One day, Lia notices a man in the building’s garden. He is a mysterious figure who only comes out at night. For Lia, that man comes to represent a choice: stay with her mother or follow her deepest instincts.

Maria Giovanna Cicciari lives in Milan. Her experimental films have participated in numerous international festivals such as La Settimana della Critica at the Venice Film Festival and the International Film Festival of Rotterdam. Her latest experimental short film titled The Ambassador, the Dancer, and the Volcano is having its premiere at Bellaria Film Festival. Since 2020, besides continuing her experimental work, she has embarked on a path as a writer, drafting her first feature-length fiction film and a series project, both funded by the Italian Ministry of Culture writing fund. She teaches Audiovisual Language at the Albe and Lica Steiner high school in Milan and organizes a short film festival in Capestrano (AQ), the Strano Film Festival.

In nessun luogo resta, 2016 (26’)
Hyperion, 2014 ( 39’)
Atlante 1783, 2016 (26’)
L’Ambasciatore, la danzatrice e il vulcano, 2025 (22’)

Written and directed by: Maria Giovanna Cicciari

Produced by: Raffaella Pontarelli

Production: Amarena Film

Status: Pre-production

Dop: Alessandro Abate

Sound: Lorenzo Dal Ri

Editing: Valentina Andreoli

Line producer: Luca Legnani

Scenography and costume design: Elisa Gelmi