Award of Merit – “Walter Treppiedi” (Italy)

Title: Walter Treppiedi
Runtime: 15 min
Country: Italy
Director: Elena Bouryka
Placement: Award of Merit
Competition: March 31, 2019

Synopsis: Danila (Danny, a Russian immigrant, 47) hijacks a taxi cab on a Saturday night and rushes through Manhattan. Danny is furious – his young beautiful wife hasn’t come home yet again, Danny is convinced she is cheating. 

Walter is an unpleasant man, dirty, a small-time middleman, a third class swindler. He lives in an old station wagon full of dirt and scraps of a lifetime. In that car, Walter eats, sleeps, receives young customers to whom he promises to break into the show business, as long as they are willing to do anything and in exchange for a bribe. 

His bodyguard is always by his side, he’s too old and smells. He’s own faithful life companion: A Rottweiler named Blackie and he’s dying.