‘Forever With You’ Director Explores Grief Through a Child’s Eyes: ‘Cinema Must Be Emotionally Rooted’
Italian director Fabrizio Cattani brought *Forever With You*, a film about a boy coming to terms with his mother’s death, to the Middle East for its first regional screening at the Sharjah International Film Festival for Children and Youth. The film uses a child’s perspective to explore grief and emotional growth, reflecting Cattani’s belief that cinema should be rooted in feeling.
Adapted from an Italian novel, the story follows Filo in 1998 and uses flashbacks and symbolic characters to represent different parts of his inner world. Shot in Calabria, the film draws on Italian settings and dialects, while Cattani says its central theme of losing a parent can resonate internationally. He said young viewers at the festival thanked him and shared their excitement after the screening; he also hopes festivals can build ties between Italian and Arab film industries amid financial pressure on independent filmmaking in Italy.
In short
- Fabrizio Cattani’s film about childhood grief screened in Sharjah.
- The story follows a boy processing his mother’s death.
- Cattani hopes film festivals can strengthen Italian-Arab cinema ties.
Explained simply
Fabrizio Cattani is an Italian film director, and Forever With You is based on an Italian novel. It follows Filo, a boy grieving his mother’s death, and uses memories and symbolic characters to show how he understands his feelings.
The film is set in Calabria, a region in southern Italy, and includes local settings and dialects. Its story centres on a child’s experience of losing a parent, a subject that audiences may recognise across different cultures.
The Sharjah International Film Festival for Children and Youth brings films to young audiences in the Middle East. Festivals can also connect filmmakers and film industries; Cattani has pointed to the financial pressures facing independent filmmaking in Italy.
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