One Kiss

Three secondary school students become friends in Udine: Lorenzo, adopted and openly gay, Blu, whom nobody has approached since her brother's death, and Antonio, socially excluded. The three accept each other and the rest of the school cannot bear it. Ivan Cotroneo adapted his own novel, which is grounded in a real event in Italy. The first half moves fast, colourfully, in the language of the young, and then it hardens on purpose. The issue at the centre is not the friendship itself but that all three expect different things from it and cannot say so. It was screened in Italian schools and became a reference point in the debate about bullying. Who it is for: viewers who like Italian youth drama and stories about bullying. Who it is not for: anyone who would rather not meet a hard ending unprepared.