Resonance
CREATIVE DIRECTION/FILM PRODUCTION / NARRATIVE
Overview
Set against the sun-drenched backdrop of Tuscany during an intense heatwave, a young painter named Carmelo finds himself at a crossroads in his personal and creative life. As his partner, Viola, challenges him to reflect on their future, Carmelo spirals into emotional uncertainty. Seeking clarity, he escapes to the countryside with his friend Valentino, where intimate encounters along scenic Tuscan roads reveal the tension between attachment and freedom, love and identity, creativity and inertia.
Resonance captures Carmelo’s internal journey as he navigates the delicate balance between passion and purpose, security and freedom. The film’s narrative unfolds through subtle yet poignant moments that invite the viewer into Carmelo’s world. The relationships he holds, both with his partner, Viola, and his friend, Valentino, reflect the push and pull between connection and autonomy, as well as the fluidity of desire and self-identity.
Process
THEMES
Romantic love as a site for self-discovery and self-erasure; attachment, autonomy, and emotional freedom; ambivalence, desire, and deferred choice; existential uncertainty and search for belonging; interior truth versus performed appearance; self-possession, isolation, and the limits of connection.
SETTING
Blanketed in the oppressive swelter of an unrelenting heatwave, the narrative’s setting against the expansive, placid Tuscan landscape renders a stark, almost contemptuous in between the setting’s appearance and its characters’ experience. The regional landscape’s native palette similarly thematically echoes of Carmelo’s internal conflict throughout the film, as viscerally intense, vibrant warm yellows and earthy browns give way to greens and blues as he retreats to the countryside.
CINEMATIC STYLE
The film blends the timeless quality of French New Wave Cinema with the intimacy of observational, character-driven storytelling. Each frame is carefully composed, echoing the aesthetics of classical painting, where light, shadow, and texture capture Carmelo’s internal struggle.
team
DIRECTOR & WRITER
Andrew Niklas Curtis
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Ali El-Zein
STORY EDITOR
Samantha Cartwright
SCRIPT EDITOR
Mike Chesbro
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Giulia Toccafondi
CAST
Andrea Battaglia (as Carmelo)
Lavinia Zaccarella (as Viola)
Sean John Gabriel (as Valentino)
Andrea Hernandez-Florez (as Luna)
COMPOSERS
Luis Corpas
Paprtape
CINEMATOGRAPHER
Andrea Poli
FIRST ASSISTANT CAMERA
Andrea Galavotti
SECOND ASSISTANT CAMERA
Alessandro Gallo
CAMERA OPERATOR
Letizia Sartini
GAFFER
Francesco Squillantini
FIRST ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
Milo Bartolotta
SECOND ASSISTANT DIRECTOR
Ali El-Zein
SET DRESSER
Mahdieh Kavake
PRODUCER
Annabella Capecchi
Kiana Livingston
PRODUCER & PRODUCTION DESIGNER
SCRIPT SUPERVISOR
Nima Golabian
ASSISTANT PRODUCTION MANAGER
Corrado Cellerini
PROPERTY MANAGER
Catalina Josanu
PRODUCTION PHOTOGRAPHER
Corrado Cellerini
POST-PRODUCTION EDITORS
Ava Tichenor
Joe Eckstein
SPECIAL THANKS
Casa Di Monte
Christine Schatz
Amp Suwan
Le Baccanti Tours