‘La storia del Frank e della Nina', a poetic exploration of family, freedom and reality
Paola Randi at the Festival de Málaga presents a youth drama with fable-like overtones, which explores friendship and dreams in a context of uncertainty
This Tuesday 18th March, the Festival de Málaga hosted 'La storia del Frank e della Nina', the new feature film by Italian director and screenwriter Paola Randi. The film is one of eight films in the Mosaic section: Panorama internacional, and was screened on Tuesday 18 March at the Echegaray Theatre.
The film, which was presented in the Orizzonti Extra section of the Venice Film Festival, addresses the meaning of family and freedom from the perspective of two young people searching for their place in the world.
Gollum, a teenager who cannot speak, tells the story of Frank and Nina by writing it on the walls of the city. Frank, a young school dropout, gets by by selling homework at schools while dreaming of escaping his situation. Nina, a 16-year-old teenage mother, fights for independence through her studies. When she decides to hire Frank as a tutor, the two begin to get to know each other more deeply, discovering that family is not always defined by blood ties.
The director Paola Randi took part in the colloquium following the screening of 'La storia del Frank e della Nina', her fifth film. Randi placed his cinema somewhere between "pop and auteur". With this feature film, the author aims to tell the story of her city, Milan, where she lived until she was thirty-nine years old.
This film is about her memories as a teenager: "At that age we are like sponges and this defines a small part of us. It is a very interesting time when there is a lot of work, torments, problems...". On the dilemma faced by the characters, the director says: "When we are teenagers the separation between friendship and love is not clear". Last, Randi invited the audience to "experience emotions" and to discover "a different Milan".
Paola Randi (Milan, 1970) is an Italian director and screenwriter known for her visual style, which mixes humour and fantasy. Her debut feature film 'Into Paradiso' (2010), set in Naples, received critical acclaim. In 2017, she consolidated her career with 'Tito e gli Alien', a science fiction comedy. She has directed episodes of Netflix series, including 'Luna nera' and 'Cero', and feature films such as 'The Legend of the Christmas Witch' (2021) and 'Beata te' (2022). Her films have won awards at festivals such as the Venice International Film Festival, the Seattle Film Festival and the David de Donatello Awards.
Following its presentation at the Festival de Málaga, 'La storia del Frank e della Nina' will be released in Spanish cinemas in the second half of 2025, distributed by Reverso Films.
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