Pio Amato is desperate to grow up fast. At 14, he drinks, smokes and follows his older brother Cosimo everywhere, learning the skills for life on the streets in their Romani community in Calabria. When Cosimo disappears and things start to go wrong, Pio sets out to prove he’s ready to become a man.

Having discovered the young Pio Amato for his debut Mediterranea, Italy’s most skilful neorealism revivalist Jonas Carpignano crafts an entire film around the teenage Romani hustler. A vividly inhabited coming-of-age drama produced by Martin Scorsese, A Ciambra carries a wrenching emotional charge.