The Reach (Short)

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original title:

The Reach

directed by:

cast:

Jana Balkan, Vincenzo Tosetto, Paolo Rozzi, Elisabetta De Gasperi, Gaia Carmagnani, Elisa Bertato, Nunzia Messina, Loredana Sembenini, Sabrina Carletti, Stefano Soprana

screenplay:

Luca Caserta, from a tale by Stephen King

cinematography:

Lorenzo Pezzano

editing:

Luca Caserta

set design:

Alice Tommasini

costume design:

Gaia Bolisani

music:

Lorenzo Tomio

producer:

Luca Caserta

production:

Nuove Officine Cinematografiche

country:

Italy

year:

2025

film run:

28'

format:

4K - colour

aspect ratio:

2.39:1

status:

Ready (19/05/2025)

festivals & awards:

Carmarthen Bay Film Festival 2025
Berlin Motion Picture Awards 2025: Critic's Choice Award
Tokyo International Short Film Festival 2025: Selezione Ufficiale
Berlin Indie Film Festival 2025: Selezione Ufficiale
Reale Film Festival 2025: Best Italian Film Award
Liverpool Indie Awards 2025: Best Short Nomination, Best Male Director Nomination
The Night of Shorts 2025: Best Medium Length Film Award
Kyoto Independent Film Festival 2025: Semifinalista
Robinson Film Awards International Film Festival 2025: Best Drama Short Award
West Chester International Short Film Festival 2025: Selezione Ufficiale
Monza Film Fest 2025: Honorable Mention – Best Director
Balticon Sunday Short Science Fiction Film Festival 2025: Best Live Action Award
Paris International Short Festival 2025: Semifinalista
Five Continents International Film Festival 2025: Best Drama Short Film Award, Best Director Nomination, Best Lead Actress Nomination (Jana Balkan)
Buffalo Roots Film Festival 2025: Best Short Film Award
Roma Short Film Festival 2025: Selezione Ufficiale
Poetic Cinema Festival 2025: Selezione Ufficiale
Rome Prisma Film Awards 2025: Finalista
WSXA Paris International Film Festival 2025: Best Short Film Nomination
Zion International Film Festival 2025: Selezione Ufficiale
Jersey Shore Film Festival 2025: Grand Jury Award – Best International Short, Best International Short Director Award, Best International Actress Award (Jana Balkan)
Literature in Cinema 2025: Selezione Ufficiale
South Italy International Film Festival 2025: Selezione Ufficiale
Halo International Film Festival 2025: Honorable Mention – Best Short Film
International Motion Picture Awards 2025: Selezione Ufficiale
Chameleon Film Festival 2025: Selezione Ufficiale
Mesa International Film Festival 2025: Selezione Ufficiale
Echelon Studios International Film Festival 2025: Finalista
Freedom Festival International 2025: Finalista
International Film Festival of Shimla 2025: Selezione Ufficiale
Heart Of Europe International Film Festival 2025: Honorable Mention
Wreak Havoc Film Festival 2025: Best Drama Short Award, Best Actress Award (Jana Balkan)
The French Duck Film Festival 2025: Best Drama Award
Apulia Web Fest 2025: Nomination
Full Bloom Film Festival 2025: Best Short Narrative Award
Highlands-Cashiers Film Festival 2025: Nomination
Phoenixville Film Festival 2025: Selezione Ufficiale
Santa Barbara Indie Film Festival 2025: Selezione Ufficiale
Matera International Film Festival 2025: Selezione Ufficiale
Burbank International Film Festival 2025: Best Foreign Short Film Award
Twelve Lions Film Festival 2025: Selezione Ufficiale
Onirica Film Festival 2025: Selezione Ufficiale
Roswell Shorts 2025: Best Adapted Short Film Award
Annaba Mediterranean Film Festival 2025: Selezione Ufficiale
Rajgir International Film Festival 2025: Selezione Ufficiale
Flatness Film Awards 2025: Best Macro Short Fiction Award
Raleigh Film & Art Festival 2025: Selezione Ufficiale
International Sound & Music Film Festival 2025: Best Short Film Nomination
The Minnesota Genre Film Exposition 2025: Selezione Ufficiale
National Independent Film Association Awards 2025: Best Drama Short Award
Poulsbo Film Festival 2025: Selezione Ufficiale
Central Coast International Film Festival 2025: Selezione Ufficiale
San Diego International Film Festival 2025: Quarter-finalist
Tuscany Web Fest 2025: Best Short Film Production Award
Hobnobben Film Festival 2025: Selezione Ufficiale
Voce Spettacolo Film Festival 2025: Semifinalista
Cine Choice Awards Los Angeles 2025: Selezione Ufficiale
Fortean Film Festival 2025: Best Director Award
Las Vegas International Film & Screenwriting 2025: Finalista
International Moving Film Festival 2025: Semifinalista
MegaFlix Movie Awards 2025: Best Book Adaptation Award
Voices Rising Film Festival 2025: Selezione Ufficiale
Tri-Cities International Film Festival 2025: Selezione Ufficiale
Salt House Creative International Film Festival 2025: Best Short Film Award
Phoenix Rising International Film Festival 2025: Best Mid-Length Film Nomination
Piceno Cinema Festival 2025: Finalista
Newborn Short Film Festival 2025: Semifinalista
Filmonaco 2025: Best Medium-length Film Nomination, Best Drama Nomination
Cinemaking International Film Festival 2025: Selezione Ufficiale
The Macoproject Film Festival – New York 2025: Honorable Mention
Folkestone Film Festival 2025: Honorable Mention
Chesapeake Film Festival 2025: Best International Short Award
South of Brazil International Film Festival 2025: Honorable Mention Best Director, Best Short Film Nomination, Best Actress Nomination (Jana Balkan)
Big Syn International Film Festival 2025: Selezione Ufficiale
Festival Internazionale del Cinema di Salerno 2025: Selezione Ufficiale
Golden Isles Film Festival 2025: Best Story Award
AFIN International Film Festival 2025: Best Lead Performance Award (Jana Balkan), Best International Short Film Nomination, Best Visual Effects Nomination (Alessio Zambardi)
Rehoboth Beach International Film Festival 2025: Best Short Film Nomination
Florence International Film Festival 2025: Selezione Ufficiale
Vienna International Film Awards 2025: Honorable Mention
Golden Knight Malta International Film Festival 2025: Highly Commended Certificate Award
Wallachia International Film Festival 2025: Best Actress Award (Jana Balkan)
Cittador International Film Festival 2025: Honorable Mention
Halic Goldenhorn Film Festival & Market 2025: Finalista
Motion Pictures International Film Festival 2025: Best Fiction Short Award
International Celebration of Cinema 2025: Platinum Award – Best Movie (Short), Platinum Award – Best Human Interest Story, Platinum Award – Best Book Adaptation, Platinum Award – Best Director, Platinum Award – Best Screenplay, Platinum Award – Best Soundtrack
Cinestesya Film Festival 2025: Selezione Ufficiale
Utah International Film Festival 2026: Selezione Ufficiale
Kolkata International Micro Film Festival 2026: Selezione Ufficiale
Nawada International Film Festival 2026: Best Foreign Film Award, Best Story Award
Gully International Film Festival 2026: Best Foreign Film Award, Best Dramatic Film Award, Best Male Director Award, Best Story Award
Calcutta Indie International Film Festival 2026: Best Short Film Award
Abita Springs International Film Festival 2026: Best Narrative Short Award, Best Director Nomination, Best Actress Nomination (Jana Balkan)
Nepal Cultural International Film Festival 2026: Selezione Ufficiale
Chambal International Film Festival 2026: Festival Special Mention
Cambria Film Festival 2026: Selezione Ufficiale
Vindhya International Film Festival of Madhya Pradesh 2026: Special Jury Short Film Award
Jaipur International Film Festival 2026: Nomination Best Short Fiction
New Delhi Film Festival 2026: Nomination Best Short Fiction
Dam Short Film Festival 2026: Selezione Ufficiale
International Art Film Festival 2026: Selezione Ufficiale
Athens International Art Film Festival 2026: Honorable Mention
Sedona International Film Festival 2026: Directors' Choice Award for Best International Short
Covellite International Film Festival 2026: Selezione Ufficiale
Southern Oasis Film Festival 2026: Selezione Ufficiale
Myrtle Beach International Film Festival 2026: Selezione Ufficiale
Liverpool Film Festival 2026: Selezione Ufficiale
Hokkaido International Film Festival 2026: Selezione Ufficiale
Saath Jiyo Foundation International Film Festival 2026: Nomination
ALTV Movie Awards 2026: Honorable Mention
Puerto Aventuras International Film Festival 2026: Best Short Award, Best Actress Award (Jana Balkan)
Veneto International Film Festival 2026: Best Drama Short Film Award, Best Director in Short Film Nomination, Best Producer in Short Film Nomination
Festival de Cine Antigua 2026: Finalista
Muses Film Awards - Levadia International Film Festival 2026: Selezione Ufficiale
Red Movie Awards 2026: Selezione Ufficiale
Manhattan Film Festival 2026: Selezione Ufficiale
Richmond International Film Festival 2026: Selezione Ufficiale

Stella Flanders is the oldest woman on Goat Island. Throughout her life, she has never crossed the Reach that separates the isle from the mainland. She has spent her entire existence in that small, close-knit community that is almost as welcoming as a family and in which she has always had everything she needed. But as a freezing winter descends upon the island, Stella begins to see visions of those she once loved, calling her toward the Reach. Perhaps the time has come for her to embark on that journey she never wished to take, a journey between memories and love that transcends the boundaries of life...

DIRECTOR’S NOTES:
Stephen King’s original short story “The Reach” captivated me because it touches on profound themes with a light, poetic hand: memory, roots, the cycle of generations, the unstoppable flow of time, and a love that transcends the boundaries of life, all wrapped in King’s signature supernatural atmosphere.
The crossing that Stella, the main character, has always avoided carries both emotional and symbolic weight: it’s the moment she must confront her inner demons. “The Reach” is also a meditation on the delicate subject of end-of-life, as well as a reflection on the climate instability of our times, embodied by the harshest freeze in fifty years, a central motif in the film. By exploring isolation, personal growth, and the courage to face the unknown by embracing change, “The Reach” resonates with themes that are intrinsic to the human experience. The stretch of sea separating the island from the mainland represents a boundary that becomes a metaphor for the passage between the world of the living and that of the dead.
The soundtrack features the song “Moonlight Motel” by Bruce Springsteen: in my view, the delicacy and nostalgic atmosphere of both the melody and the lyrics are intimately connected to the film’s themes.

The Reach (Short)

by Luca Caserta