HOMO HUMILIS
Manuele Cecconello / Italy / 2024 / 29 min / Colour
Stefano Cappellaro’s search is a quest for authenticity. The young shepherd has chosen to roam the mountains of Valle Cervo, in the Biella region, following his goats, becoming a nomad, and putting himself at the center. And yet, Stefano is not antisocial — he longs for authentic relationships, far from a model of society he does not share and from which he has voluntarily distanced himself. He sustains himself by drawing milk from the animals, water from the rocks, fruit and vegetables from the earth, and from occasional manual work to earn the few coins he needs to buy flour, rice, and a newspaper. The director transfigures him through images and sounds that evoke dreamlike visions, where the shepherd and his goats seem to merge into one with the landscape, because Stefano is made of the same substance as the grass, the moss, and the stone. His choice is an example of how it is possible to live with little—and still smile.
Manuele Cecconello
Director and photographer, born in Vercelli in 1969, he studied Film History and Criticism at the University of Turin. Since the late 1980s, he has worked in publishing and audiovisual media, leading training workshops, writing essays for journals, and making experimental films. Among others, he directed the documentary Il patto della montagna (2017).
