Davide e il Mostro
Concorso italiano – Lungometraggi
Brief Synopsis:
The life of Davide, a 30-year-old illustrator from Milan, has changed twice: the first, at the age of 8, when he was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome; the second, when he picked up a pencil for the first time. Drawing has since represented the means to overcome his relational difficulties. It is no coincidence that at 14 he invented a character, a black and hairy monster loved by no one: Patatone became the alter-ego that allowed him, through his drawn adventures, to tell how Davide felt: a monster, indeed. And this is how our society often looks at the “different”.“Davide and the monster” is a story about the courage to show oneself for who he really is, and about the rediscovery of the concept of normality.
Director’s Notes:
In my opinion Davide and the Monster, even if this theme is never made explicit, is a documentary about courage. The courage of two parents who overcome the shock of their child’s autism diagnosis; the courage of Davide, who proudly embraces his being “different”, who is not afraid to tell his story; the courage of those who work with families of autistic children and support them; and also the courage of the authors of this film in tiptoeing their way into the history of a family, in trying to tell the story of thirty years.