SUNDAY 16 NOV – H 20:00 – ROOM 2
Meeting with the DIRECTOR, GABRIELE STELLA and ALESSANDRO QUARTA, the composer of the soundtrack

PAPER HEART
ITALY – 2024 – color – 85′

Direction: Kristina Sarkyte
Screenplay: Kristina Sarkyte
Cinematography: Stefano Tria
Editing: Annalisa Forgione
Production design: Fabio Tresca
Original score: Alessandro Quarta
Costumes: Francesca Ferraro
Cast: Stefania Rocca (teacher Paola), Gabriele Stella (Luca), Isabella Briganti (Mina, Luca’s mother), Francesco Carrassi (Paolo, Luca’s father), Giorgia Scialpi (Laura), Axel Caponio (Rocco), Antonella Leone (Giovanna), Francesco Iacobellis (Pietro), Mario Morroi (Luigi), Vincenza De Rinaldis (Titina)
Producer: Kristina Sarkyte in collaboration with Stefania Rocca, Gabriele Stella, Isabella Briganti, Alessandro Quarta, Giangabriele Foschini, Vincenzo Falcone
Production: Hyperreality srl., Brandos Film
World Sales: Hyperreality srl.

Synopsis
Luca is a sweet and intelligent boy who tries to grow up and survive in a degraded family situation. His brutal father wants him to be more masculine. Only at his neighbors Luigi and Pietro’s house, Luca feels appreciated. Will he be able to maintain his beautiful soul in a dark and limiting reality?

the director: KRISTINA SARKYTE
Kristina Sarkyte grew up surrounded by some of the finest artists on the Lithuanian theater scene. From an early age, she demonstrated a particular attraction to theater directing and writing. Before turning 18, she received a letter of appreciation from the Deputy Prime Minister of Lithuania for her achievements in writing, won her first awards dedicated to young talents for her early theater productions, and saw her poems awarded and published. At the age of 19, she moved to Italy and graduated in philosophy from the Orientale University. She then went on to obtain two further master’s degrees, one in digital dramaturgy from La Sapienza University and one in Editorial Information and Journalism from Roma Tre University. She also obtained master’s degrees in screenwriting and directing.

director’s statement
“Every director has a reason for making films. I have immense faith in the power of this medium. I believe that cinema can change the way we think, make us more empathetic, more sensitive, more inclusive, and more capable of putting ourselves in other people’s shoes. I thought of Paper Heart as a film capable of giving value to those who struggle and never stop dreaming. I believe that all these ideas also inspired the people who decided to get involved in the project: Stefania Rocca, Isabella Briganti, and Alessandro Quarta, who produced the film, but also the other associate producers, as well as the artists who created the necessary magic: Nicola Genco and Giuseppe Ravizzotti shared their talent and creativity with infinite generosity. I am grateful to the entire crew and to the many people I had the opportunity to meet every day in local communities and associations. There was a kind of extraordinary energetic alignment that allowed this film to be made in an astonishingly short time. From an executive production point of view, Brandos deserves immense credit.”

filmography
2013 European Dream (short)
2013 La superstar (The Superstar, short)
2015 Broken (short)
2022 A Contact (doc., short)
2025 Cuore di carta (Paper Heart)

awards and festivals
2025 Sguardi Altrove FF – FrameItalia: Special Mention, Audience Award
2025 LA Indie Film Fest: Best Foreign Film, Director, Screenplay, Ensemble, Actor (Gabriele Stella), Actress (Stefania Rocca)
2025 Underground Cinema IFF, Dublin – International Competition
2025 Villamare Fest. Film&Friends: Best Original Score
2025 Ferrara FF – Official Selection
2025 Giffoni Macedonia Youth FF – Official Selection
2025 Capena FF – Official Selection
2025 Icaro IFF, Guatemala (22-27/11/2025) – Official Selection