Andrei is a 10 year-old boy who grew up in Romania. Not long ago, he was living the cheerful, care-free life that every child deserves to live. But as a result of the global economic crisis, his father was fired from his job and his mother moved to Italy to find work. As the months passed, this separation took its toll. The absence of Andrei’s mother, combined with his father’s alcohol abuse, became increasingly tough to bear. The presence of Andrei’s relatives helped but he felt a growing emptiness inside him.

After a long and painful lawsuit between his parents, Andrei was finally reunited with his mother in Italy. But life is not filled with simple, happy endings. Andrei’s move to Italy was the beginning of a difficult, strange new life. In Italy, everything looked different and Andrei’s buoyant expectations turned quickly towards disappointment.

Living in Italy, Andrei finds himself longing for his old life. He finds it difficult to integrate into his new surroundings. His feelings of estrangement and discomfort grow even worse due to the arduous relationship between himself and his mother’s new partner. Andrei begins to shut the world out. He avoids people and isolates himself inside a psychological cage.

When I met him, I discovered that he hardly ever leaves his flat that, although it does not feel like home, proves to be the only refuge he has in this strange new land. His body is in Italy but his spirit remains in Romania. Andrei has arrived somewhere but not here…

—Fabio Moscatelli