IL PROFUMO DELLA TERRA
THE SCENT OF THE GROUND
Bruno Palma / Italy / 2025 / 30 min / Colour
With his faithful and expert dogs, Claudio Polidori roams the woods around the medieval village of Torri in Sabina, in Lazio, where he lives with his partner Marta and their daughter Nora. He began training dogs at a very young age. For over twelve years now, the hunt for and sale of truffles, the precious subterranean fungi, has been his livelihood. His narration is fervent. “The real truffle hunter is the one with dirty fingernails,” he says without hesitation, revealing an authentic bond with the earth that gives him what he lives on. As we follow him, we discover that his search, though carried out in accordance with the rules, is deeply tied to a desire for freedom and to a connection with nature that goes beyond the notion of private property. “Truffle hunting is the highest form of anarchy,” says Claudio. And he adds, “The truffle belongs to the one who finds it.” The director stays so close to him that we feel as though our own hands are getting dirty—and we can almost smell those truffles—because, as Claudio says, “the scent of truffles is the scent of the earth.”
Bruno Palma
An Italian freelance director, he was born in Rome in 1973. After founding Digitalchroma, he dedicated himself to directing and filming documentaries, short films, music videos, and television formats. Sulla Via dei Padri (2022) won Best Italian Documentary at the Salerno International Film Festival, the UNPLI Prize, and the Isola del Cinema Prize at Vision 2030.
