Chatter Box Film

My Killer Buddy (Io e il Secco) is a film that’s been nominated for Best International Feature at the 2024 Raindance International Festival.

Director Gianluca Santoni, helms his fourth feature film; about a boy who wants to save his mother from an abusive marriage to his industrialist father.

Blending elements of Italian neo-realistic cinema and documentary style shooting; My Killer Buddy is an emotional drama about a child witnessing the disintegration of his parent’s marriage based around the point of view of the only child in the relationship

Denni’s (Francesco Lombardo) parents are always arguing, his father beats up his mother when frustrated by the demands and stresses of work. Denni takes the fantasist notion of hiring someone to kill his father – a deadbeat Secco (Andrea Lattanzi) who has his own problems with the law.

Showing the class structures and the geopolitical social structure taking place within this Northeastern Italian community. A wide-ranging story that is about more than what is on the surface.

Denni and Secco help and learn a lot about themselves from each other. Secco is reminiscent of Harris Dickinson’s absent Dad in Scrapper. Secco with his fire white hair and living below the breadline does not have much going for him, yet the character substantially grows over the runtime. He becomes a more important father figure to Denni than his actual father ever was.

Featuring sensitive performances, a modern soundtrack of all Italian genres symbolizing the ‘here and now’ of current climate. A tightly shot production with much of film shot from Denni’s perspective and eyeline provides the realism. This little Italian gem is an entertaining film with much going in its favour.

My Killer Buddy had its International Premiere on Sunday 23rd June. It awaits international distribution.

View the trailer for Europictures Italia film My Killer Buddy here.