The COVID-19 pandemic forced many to stay at home, preventing people from meeting each other in real life. In the absence of any physical connection, an old 16mm camera, a zoom lens, and a few meters of expired film will forge alternative modes of contact among neighbors.

Alice Rohrwacher’s lockdown film escapes the claustrophobia of video calls to seek connection through a zoom lens. The faces of her neighbors are captured on tactile 16mm film and accompanied by the director’s gentle narration in this humanist gem that sparkles with kindness under the Italian sun.