Respiro / Grazia's Island

13 year-old Pasquale lives on the little island of Lampedusa, where he spends his time hunting birds with a slingshot and impressing girls by showing off with stunts on his souped-up Vespa. His father, Pietro, is a generous, violent man, loved and feared; his mother, Grazia, unable to stay in her place, and hence a continuous source of worry and gossip. Though ashamed of her, Pasquale can't help but defend her from the ever-increasing pressure of the town and his father, who favours sending her to a hospital in Milan. Pasquale decides to hide his mother in a cave, making believe that she took her life by jumping into the sea. He visits, feeds and takes care of her until he realises that he can't keep her hidden for ever... It's San Bartolo night, and the bonfires lit at the edge of the sea illuminate Grazia's face when she emerges as if by miracle.