Luca is a 12-year-old boy from San Giovanni Rotondo. One day, coming back home after visiting the little church and museum of Padre Pio, Luca tells his parents, at dinner, about his project of interviewing the local personalities who knew the Saint and gathering their testimonies to write a book on him. He also manages to involve his friend Sebastiano, from San Marco in Lamis, in his initiative. Sebastiano accepts to collaborate, despite his complex and difficult family situation: his mother is seriously ill, and the relationship between him and his father is a little tense. The two boys begin their survey interviewing three personalities who met the Father and talked to him when they were young. In between the interviews, they exchange their impressions, but meanwhile the health of Sebastiano’s mother is worsening, and his father falls ill too because of drinking…

DIRECTOR’S NOTES:
I wrote and made the film We’ll Rise at Dawn with the aim of portraying Padre Pio from a secular perspective, for those who know little or nothing about him, through the eyes of two boys. So, by following the protagonists in their research, viewers discover the extraordinary figure of Padre Pio but also his social contribution, the “Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza” Hospital. The film is also a journey through the lives of two socially different families from Puglia, with all the traditions and culture of this region. Another side of Southern Italy, made of ordinary people and families, and not its usual negative image linked to organized crime, which attracts media attention but is distant from the everyday life of these wonderful villages… The film aims to convey the authentic Christian values, the power of friendship, a pure and sincere feeling that makes the young protagonists’ lives extraordinary. Another original element about this film is that it features true personalities from San Giovanni Rotondo.