The Weight of Dreams

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Trailer

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The Weight of Dreams

The Weight of Dreams

The Weight of Dreams

original title:

The Weight of Dreams

italian title:

Il peso dei sogni

directed by:

cast:

Khoulaly Latifa, Aurelio Raso

screenplay:

Francesco Mattuzzi, Alice Bolognani, Emanuele Klemp

editing:

Emanuele Kelmp

production:

country:

Italy

year:

2016

film run:

60'

format:

colour

aspect ratio:

1.69:1

status:

Ready (01/10/2016)

festivals & awards:

  • Rome Film Fest 2016: Alice nella Città - KINO Panorama│Italia
  • Visioni dal Mondo 2016: Concorso Italiano - Rai Cinema Prize

A couple of truck drivers live 24 hours a day on a truck. They both dream a new start, but how much does a dream weight?
They will have to face the freight transport rules, a job invading their intimacy between imposed nomadism, strict delivery dead lines and a claustrophobic cohabitation in a cockpit. Aurelio e Latifa are a couple of truck drivers. They drive in turns day and night, they cook in the rest areas using a gas cooker, they wait all the day long stuck at custom checks. They both have a rough past, made of divorces, violence, tragic family events. They met by chance in a parking and they've fallen in love with each other. They dream a new start in life.
The dream will collide with the harsh reality of a job totally invading their intimacy. The life on a truck is so hard, suffocating every personal life plan: the scenes then get less and less passionate, hues become faded, realism prevails. What we get is the sleepless nights drama, the continuous checks by the boss and at the custom borders, unfairness.
They will tender their resignation, with the hope to find better working conditions and have a more satisfying life. However, the situation will not improve and their cohabitation will get more and more claustrophobic and their relationship more and more cold.

DIRECTOR'S NOTES:
The film is a documentary project, originating from a research work started five years ago. Initially, the idea was to develop the European freight transport topic, covering the path from Turkey to England, with the aim to provide a portrait of contemporary Europe. However, the extensive research work I carried out “on field” allowed me to focus on a story, articulating on this context.
After many trips around Europe as a “guest” on many trucks, I finally met the film protagonists (who are not actors, but actual truck drivers) and I decided that their story was fitting with the idea I had in mind to describe the phenomenon. Shooting was made in two ways: initially I followed the protagonists, traveling with them on the truck. This allowed me to build a stable trust and bond with them. After this first phase, I decided to purify the scene taking out my physical presence, so I gave them a camera and chose a remote direction, aiming to achieve a deeper intimacy in their interactions.