Paternal leave

Directed by Director's notes
  • Alissa Jung
Directed by
  • Alissa Jung
Year
  • 2025
Length
  • 1h 53m
Year
  • 2025
Length
  • 1h 53m
Cast
  • Juli Grabenhenrich
  • Luca Marinelli
  • Arturo Gabbriellini
  • Gaia Rinaldi
  • Joy Falletti Cardillo
Synopsis

15-year-old Leo grew up in Germany without a father.
When she discovers his identity, she immediately sets out to find him.  Her search leads her to a boarded-up beach bar on Italy’s wintry coast and she meets Paolo.
Paolo is overwhelmed and conflicted. He struggles to balance his relationship with his new family  Leo’s sudden arrival. At first Leo just wants answers but soon longs for a place in his life. With no money or plan, she stays in the small town. As they spend time together, Leo and Paolo begin to bond, discovering that they have much in common.
Inevitably reality catches up with them. When Paolo prioritizes his younger daughter, Leo is left hurt and angry. Tensions rise. A confrontation lays their pain bare, seemingly shattering their fragile connection. Amid the turmoil, father and daughter begin to understand their truths, taking a small but meaningful step toward acceptance.

Director's notes
  • Almost no one can shake and hurt us as deeply as our parents do with small things, with single phrases, yet almost no one can give us as much stability in our lives. I was interested in these two extremes. In "Paternal Leave," I therefore tell the story of a very specific father-daughter relationship: two people completely estranged from each other, yet bound by genetics, social conventions, and a void. In this Kammerspiel on the beach, where we tell the story of the meeting between daughter and father in just three days, it was important for me not to judge, but to observe and empathize. The harsh solitude of a deserted winter coast in Italy was the right place to tell the story of the encounter between Leo and Paolo. On the one hand, because the harshness and stubbornness of this coast reflect the two main characters; on the other hand, because the Italian-German story gave me the opportunity to completely distance the daughter and father linguistically, to create boundaries in communication, to show their estrangement even more clearly. I am moved by the dilemma that continues to arise from a decision made in the past, just as I am moved by the hope of love. It saddens me to see how an attempt to make amends, without truly confronting the situation with honesty, perhaps to protect ourselves or others, distances us from the possibility of a true reconciliation. "Paternal Leave" is a film about human stumbles, about love, about family, but above all, it is a film about being honest with ourselves, about having the courage to look at who we are.
Directed by
  • ALISSA JUNG
Written by
  • Alissa Jung
Produced by
  • Cécile Tollu-Polonowski
  • Viola Fügen
  • Michael Weber
Produced by
  • Sonia Rovai
A production
  • The Match Factory & Wildside, a Fremantle Company
A Co-Production
  • Italy and Germany
In collaboration with
  • Vision Distribution
In collaboration with
  • Rai Cinema
In collaboration with
  • Sky
Executive producers
  • Mario Gianani
  • Lorenzo Gangarossa
Executive producers Wildside
  • Saverio Guarascio
  • Mandella Quilici
  • Gianluca Mizzi
Editing
  • Heike Parplies
  • David Maria Vogel
Scenography
  • Cristina Bartoletti
Director of photography
  • Carolina Steinbrecher
Costumes
  • Daniela Tartari
Assistant Director
  • Federico Giorgio Ridolfi
  • Francesca Coticoni
Live Sound and Sound Designer
  • Jörg Theil
Casting
  • Beate Kurecki
  • Valentina Barato
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER THE MATCH FACTORY
  • SEBASTIAN FRÖHLICH
General organizer
  • Davide Rizzo
Production supervisor
  • Leandro Fabbri
With the support of
  • REGIONE EMILIA-ROMAGNA through EMILIA-ROMAGNA FILM COMMISSION
With the support of
  • DFFF, FFA, BKM, MDM, KURATORIUM JUNGER
  • DEUTSCHER FILM
Distributed by
  • Vision Distribution
Director's notes
X

Almost no one can shake and hurt us as deeply as our parents do with small things, with single phrases, yet almost no one can give us as much stability in our lives. I was interested in these two extremes. In "Paternal Leave," I therefore tell the story of a very specific father-daughter relationship: two people completely estranged from each other, yet bound by genetics, social conventions, and a void. In this Kammerspiel on the beach, where we tell the story of the meeting between daughter and father in just three days, it was important for me not to judge, but to observe and empathize. The harsh solitude of a deserted winter coast in Italy was the right place to tell the story of the encounter between Leo and Paolo. On the one hand, because the harshness and stubbornness of this coast reflect the two main characters; on the other hand, because the Italian-German story gave me the opportunity to completely distance the daughter and father linguistically, to create boundaries in communication, to show their estrangement even more clearly. I am moved by the dilemma that continues to arise from a decision made in the past, just as I am moved by the hope of love. It saddens me to see how an attempt to make amends, without truly confronting the situation with honesty, perhaps to protect ourselves or others, distances us from the possibility of a true reconciliation. "Paternal Leave" is a film about human stumbles, about love, about family, but above all, it is a film about being honest with ourselves, about having the courage to look at who we are.