original title:
Scherzetto
directed by:
cast:
screenplay:
Mario Martone, Ippolita Di Majo, from the eponymous novel by Domenico Starnone
cinematography:
editing:
set design:
costume design:
music:
production:
distribution:
world sales:
country:
Italy
year:
2026
format:
colour
status:
In post-production (03/04/2026)
Successful illustrator Daniele Mallarico travels to Naples to look after his four-year-old grand-son while his daughter is away for a few days.
What begins as a simple babysitting job turns into a subtle psychological duel, as the child’s boundless imagination slowly unsettles him. Trapped together in the apartment, Daniele is forced to confront something far more disturbing than a mischievous child: the fear of aging and the loss of creativity.
Through this strange encounter, he may rediscover the power of imagination he thought he had lost.