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Christina Vandekerckhove

Milano

Director Christina Vandekerckhove Composer Stijn Ylode De Gezelle Cast Matteo Simoni, Basil Wheatley, Alexia Depicker, Jo Deseure
119' - 2024 - Drama - Format: DCP - Dialogue: Dutch
After her acclaimed documentary Rabot, Christina Vandekerckhove transitions to fiction with Milano, a poignant tale about a father and his deaf son, starring Matteo Simoni and newcomer Basil Wheatley. Set in a social housing neighborhood, the film explores the emotional strains that arise when the boy seeks to connect with his estranged biological mother.
What happens after years of making documentaries? For Christina Vandekerckhove, who made waves in 2017 with Rabot, a powerful documentary about the last residents of three social housing towers, the answer is that certain real-life encounters, situations, and people linger in your mind. "They became the spark for Milano," Vandekerckhove admitted in 2023. "The rest is imagination." In her fiction debut - though her award-winning short films Mia and Stella were early steps in this direction - the Ghent filmmaker focuses on Alain (played by Matteo Simoni), a single father raising his deaf son Milano (newcomer Basil Wheatley) in a social housing neighborhood. As Alain strives to create a better life for his 11-year-old son, their relationship is strained when Milano expresses a desire to meet his biological mother and finds support in a wealthy neighbor. Milano is an emotional and poetic exploration of parenthood and friendship, blending the rawness of reality with the sensitivity of fiction.

Part of VRT CANVAS Select

Image gallery

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Credits

Directors

Christina Vandekerckhove

Composers

Stijn Ylode De Gezelle

Cast

Matteo Simoni, Basil Wheatley, Alexia Depicker, Jo Deseure

Scenario

Christina Vandekerckhove

Director of Photography

Frederic Van Zandycke

Editors

Jan Van Der Weken

Producers

Annemie Degryse, Jan De Clercq

Production studios

Lunanime

Distributor

Lumière Publishing

More info

Dialogue

Dutch

Countries of production

Belgium, The Netherlands

Year

2024

Filmography

Christina Vandekerckhove
Rabot (2017), Stella (short, 2020), Sofie Decleir in Mia (short, 2020), Milano (2024).

Technical Specs

Format
DCP