SHOES

SCARPE

Short,

Italy

2025

Runtime, min

A little girl and a little boy, in a public park, are wearing completely different clothes. She’s elegant, aloof, while he is messy, dirty, cheerful. Among chirping birds and an atmosphere, almost heavenly, the wish to be something else, the desire, causes a twisting of roles. The child, all of a sudden, sees his dream come true, but not everything that glitters is gold. Shoes, is a snapshot of a society more and more visible and superficial, often confused with reality. We measure ourselves what we see, forgetting that outer beauty can hide insecurities and fragilities. The image we project becomes an illusion, distancing us from the true essence of who we are. The constant need to appear creates a gap, between our being and a world, where nothing is ever enough, yet where the improbable and the unthinkable can happen.

Director:

Giuseppe Piscino

Selections and Awards:

BTS

REVIEWS:

A strong story: the boy in torn pants looks at the girl like an icon of success. But the film shows the bitter irony of consumer society. We judge by the wrapper. The boy screams I want to be like her! not realizing that behind her clean clothes hides coldness and loneliness. It’s the classic trap of class inequality.

Lluis Blaschke

I like the color contrast. The girl is all in white and black, so strict, with a headband, while the boy is in dirty, earthy tones. Giuseppe Piscino caught the light in the leaves perfectly. Shoes here are a status symbol that we overestimate. Beautifully shot, but sad story.

Kevin Lacombe

The film is an allegory of Plato's Cave, but in the fashion world. The boy sees the glitter, Ema's clean clothes, and mistakes it for happiness. Not everything that glitters is gold is key here. We want someone else's life because we only see the facade. The irony is that the girl probably envies his freedom to climb trees.

Alejandro Rüdin

Giuseppe Piscino continues the traditions of Italian cinema, where children often become a mirror of adult problems. The scene on the bench is shot very intimately.

Javier Hernandez Gomez

Even if your sneakers are dirty, at least you can run wherever you want.

Kirill Averin