Effetto collaterale

Side Effect is a short film shot almost entirely in black and white, in which the search for colour takes on a powerful narrative role: yellow is the sprite that appears to Sergio during the hunt and begins to haunt him, guiding him towards the recovery of a relationship he believed had been lost forever.

The side effect is the ringing Sergio hears in his ears when he fires the gun. Above all, it is also the manifestation of Sergio’s unconscious desire to change his life and retrace his steps.

Who is to blame for everything that happens? Who sets the action in motion?

Is the sprite that appears and shows Sergio the way real, or is it a contemporary Puck who directs the story, manipulating events and leading Sergio back to the larch tree? Or is it a hallucination, a product of the mind that briefly adds colour to everything around him, an unforeseen effect of isolation?

I wanted to tell a story of reconciliation, of rebuilding a relationship that has deteriorated over time, between a father and a daughter who have lost touch with one another but remain deeply connected by a bond that can always be restored, as long as someone is willing to take the first step.