An abandoned, crumbling kindergarten as a secret sanctuary – this is the dream of Mery, Rosy and Angelo, three eleven-year-olds growing up in Danisinni. In this deprived, crime-ridden neighbourhood in the heart of Palermo, Sicily, the children long for a safe place to call their own. With determination and boundless energy, they clear away rubble, decorate bare walls and shattered windows and drag in salvaged sofas, rugs and lamps until something like home takes shape. Outside, a reality they know all too well presses in: fathers in prison, violence in the streets, gunshots, fear. Inside, they share dreams, listen to music and talk – about the future, gender roles and ideals of beauty. Together, they build a parallel world governed entirely by their own rules. But they sense that the magic of their castle can endure only as long as they defend it together. Quietly observant of actions, half-formed thoughts and the atmosphere, this powerful documentary makes viscerally clear how imagination and the solidarity of friendship can become genuine strategies for survival – when the world outside offers little shelter.

Awards for »The Castle«
Tutta un’altra storia Pratello Award – Biografilm Festival 2025

Content note