Per un po’, directed by Simone Valentini – a feature film addressing the delicate theme of foster care with a focus on the male experience – will be released in Italian cinemas on Thursday 26 February 2026. The film is based on the novel of the same title by Niccolò Agliardi, who co-wrote the screenplay with Francesca Maria Scanu, Andrea Zuliani and Valentini himself. Cinematography is by Jacopo Maria Caramella CCS; editing by Filippo Orrù; production design by Caterina Pepe; costumes by Angela Bove; and music by Giacomo Ruggeri and Tommaso Ruggeri. An Italy–Albania co-production between Twister Film and A. B. Film, the film was made with the support of the Italian Ministry of Culture. Distribution in Italy is handled by FilmClub Distribuzione. The cast features Alessandro Tedeschi, Isnaba Na Montche, and Sara Laura Raimondi in the lead roles, with Ilde Mauri, Alessio De Persio, Cecilia Di Giuli, Giulia Maulucci, Francesca Stagnì, and Ilir Jacellari in supporting parts. On February 26th, director Simone Valentini, cinematographer Jacopo Caramella CCS, and other members of the crew will attend the 9:00 pm screening at Cinema Farnese in Rome.
Niccolò, a forty-year-old with a successful career and a desire to give something back, decides to become a foster father to Federico, an eighteen-year-old with a troubled past who grew up in residential care. Between them, a deep and complex relationship begins to take shape — an emotional push and pull that never quite settles into a true balance. Fede and Nic share their lives for a time and, although Federico’s ghosts and Niccolò’s limitations keep them from ever becoming a real family, in that brief window they transform each other, giving one another the strength to start over.
Jacopo Caramella told us:
‘Per un po’ tells the story of Niccolò, a successful figure in the music world who becomes the foster father of Federico — an eighteen-year-old who grew up in residential care. The relationship between the two is far from simple; the search for balance is constantly disrupted by misunderstandings and moments of rupture. The film reflects this relational journey by unfolding in three parts: the first is anchored in Niccolò’s point of view, the second in Fede’s, while the third observes them from the outside, at a remove. This structure operates both on a narrative level and in terms of cinematic language. The film is shot predominantly handheld, following the characters and their interactions with a close, participatory gaze, punctuated by wide-angle long shots that offer emotional breathing room and mark — by contrast — the unlikely nature of this rapprochement, returning each character to a kind of constitutive solitude within the wider world. I chose to shoot on the ARRI ALEXA Mini with Zeiss High Speed Uncoated lenses for the overall softness they lend to the image: the imperfections and veiling flare characteristic of Uncoated lenses produce a hazy quality, like breathing on a cold windowpane and watching the glass fog over — much like our characters themselves. The lighting is natural and soft, particularly in the daytime scenes, while at night it grows harder and more chromatically dense, mirroring the emotional intensity that builds within the protagonists.’
