FRED’s Simone Moraldi interviews Stephen Dunn, director of the film Closet Monster, which screened at the parallel and independent section of the 10th Rome Film Festival, Alice nella Città.
The young director of Closet Monster talks about how his film, which is also his feature directorial debut, tells a story with autobiographical traits and how it tries to make considerations about the complicated issue of homophobia.
CLOSET MONSTER tells the story of Oscar Madly (Jessup), a creative and driven teenager who hovers on the brink of adulthood. Destabilized by his dysfunctional parents, unsure of his sexuality, and haunted by horrific images of a tragic gay bashing he witnessed as a child, Oscar dreams of escaping the town he feels is suffocating him. A talking hamster, imagination and the prospect of love help him confront his surreal demons and discover himself.
"How to have sex" , the opening film of Alice nella Città 2023, is DOP Molly Manning Walker's directorial debut and is about the sexual pressure the teenage world is built around
Paolo Sorrentino’s “La Grazia” to open the 82nd Venice Film Festival on August 27, 2025. World premiere with Toni Servillo in competition at Biennale Cinema.
In Son of Happiness, Dominik Mirecki tells the moving story of Beniamin, a boy with Down syndrome who dreams of acting. Through heartfelt realism and emotional depth, Mirecki explores family bonds, love, and the courage to dream—even when the world …
In Fish River Anthology, Veera Lamminpää blends humor, melancholy, and stop-motion animation to explore the inner lives of dead fish in a supermarket. A surreal musical elegy that questions existence, value, and the overlooked beauty of everyday life.