Inspired by true events. When a failed musician returning to his Sicilian hometown is confronted with his estranged and daughter, will he use this opportunity to finally form an honest connection, or will the feud with his Mafioso brother drive him to break more bonds between him and his newfound kin?
When I was 10 years old my father told me, in mid air flying toward Palermo, that I have a brother. I was a shy kid, and until that age I experienced selective mutism, a mental health condition common in children who migrate from their country of birth. So, I simply responded with a nod and put in my headphones, unable to get up and only barely processing this through the little plane window that felt like my only escape. When I met the guy, I was mute. Cut to 20 years later, and my half-brother casually asks me, on a road trip: what if there were others? This is how SICILIA! & THE VARIOUS OFFSPRING OF PAOLO SORTINI came to life. Every new season, this elusive middle-aged busker who squats in a dilapidated apartment in Sicily, discovers that he has a new child. And every child, now grown, will be a new opportunity for Paolo to form a genuine connection. Except that every child will also uncover deep-rooted themes that not only put Paolo's troubadour life into question, but all of the Sortini relatives - whether it's religion, family resentment, conspiracy theories, incest, and even matricide. In Sicily, pride and passion drive people to the extreme. How many offspring will it take for Paolo to mend broken familial bonds?
Paris born & New York raised, francophone Turkish-Sicilian Writer/Director Flavia Casà has a BFA in filmmaking from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. After graduating, she worked for auteurs Cédric Klapisch, Noah Baumbach, and Academy Award-winning Director of Photography, Emmanuel Lubezki. Flavia wrote and directed a portfolio of acclaimed films that gained recognition internationally, including The Solar System, and Fragile Forms which stars Broad City’s Arturo Castro. Her first feature, Beautiful in the Morning (starring The Bill’s Mark Wingett), premiered and opened LA Femme International Film Festival, where she was a finalist for Best Feature Writer. The script was top 20% of the prestigious Academy Nicholl Fellowship. Throughout the festival circuit, the film received accolades for Best Feature Writer, Best Acting, Best Cinematography, and Best Music. The film was picked up by Herflix, a streaming platform for female directors. Flavia currently lives in London where she also freelances in advertising and teaches screenwriting at the University of Warwick. Having spent much of her childhood in different corners of the globe, Flavia always struggled with the elusive notion of “home” and often explores the idea of belonging in her storytelling. Her new feature, Inner Life, and other projects are in development with Inceptive Films.
