I’ve never been there

In any place at any time there is a illegal child immigrants hiding in the house. We tell the story of an 8-year-old child creating a fantasy world to survive her status. While fear drags her into an old fairy tale, the sounds and colors coming from outside stimulate her imagination.

During a journey by train, we listen to the tale of a woman, Dora that’s her name. She talk about her experience as the daughter of immigrants in Switzerland in the 1970s, when the law prevented the children of seasonal workers from living with their parents. For many of them, the only chance was to live as clandestine, hiding in their own houses.

A flashback takes us back to 1977, there is Dora at 8 living illegally at home. She is a child who fights boredom and loneliness by inventing a fantasy world that arises from sensory perceptions, which she combines with the memory of a fairy tale. Thus we discover that her main relationship with reality is through imagination and fantastic visions.

Thanks to archival footage, we can give a view of the society of the 1970s: the everyday life, people at work, passers-by, children going to school. This is a verisimilar story based on firsthand accounts of people who had similar experiences. The child’s experience is in conflict with the world outside, that can alternatively stimulate fear or curiosity. Dora must pay attention to don’t make any noise, because her neighbour would report her presence.

One day, curiosity pushes her to look out from the window, where her old neighbour discovers her. The first time she finally sees Switzerland is during her expulsion journey.

Experimental documentary, 70 min, Italy/Croatia/Switzerland
Status: in pre-production

Pitching Forums
Selected at ZagrebDox Pro, 2020

Director: Debora Vrizzi
Script: Andrea Trincardi
Screenplay: Andrea Trincardi, Debora Vrizzi, Augusta Eniti
Produced by: Andrea Trincardi (Altreforme), Dijana Mladenovic (Kinematograf), Vittoria Fiumi (Fiumi Film)

Supported by: Fondo per l’Audiovisivo del Friuli Venezia Giulia, RE-ACT Co-Development Funding Scheme, MiC