A bittersweet comedic drama, The Big Step sees Giuseppe Battiston (Perfect Strangers, IFF16) and Stefano Fresi (I Can Quit Whenever I Want 3, IFF18) star for the first time together on screen.
When he was six years old, Dario Cavalieri (Giuseppe Battiston) watched the live television broadcast of the Moon landing. Ever since then, he has dreamed of going to the Moon. Meanwhile, his brother Mario (Stefano Fresi) runs a local hardware store in Rome. One day Mario’s life is turned upside down when he receives an unexpected call: his half-brother Dario has caused a fire and is now in prison. Mario realises only he can help his brother, whom he has seen only once in his life. Initially hesitant, he heads north to the Venetian countryside to come to the aid of his brother.
The two men who are physically similar, but completely different in personality, soon find themselves alone in the face of an impossible venture. Paying tribute to the wonder of American science-fiction cinema and the poetry of Italian cinema, director Antonio Padovan (The Last Prosecco, IFF18) celebrates dreamers in a stunning, melancholic film.
Director
Antonio Padovan
Antonio Padovan (born Venice, 1985) currently lives in New York and works as a writer and film director. In 2007 he received a full scholarship to the New York Film Academy and moved to the United States. His debut feature film, The Last Prosecco (2017), was an Italian box office hit and was nominated for Best First Feature and Best Screenplay at the 2018 Italian Golden Globes.