PATERNAL LEAVE

Leo is 15 years old and grew up in Germany without ever knowing her father. When she discovers his identity, she decides to embark on a journey to find him, arriving at a deserted beach on the Italian coast, at a kiosk closed for winter. There, she meets Paolo, who is caught off guard by her sudden arrival. The encounter throws him off center, reopening dormant wounds and questioning the fragile balance of his new family. At first, Leo only seeks answers, but soon the desire for belonging takes over. In the days that follow, a bond of hesitations and small steps forms between father and daughter, but their still-fragile connection is soon put to the test. Faced with the shadows of the past and the uncertainties of the present, both will be forced to redefine what it truly means to be part of each other’s lives.

Category: Special Events Tag: Out of Competition

Original Title	Paternal Leave
Italian Title	Paternal Leave
English Title	Paternal Leave
Section	Special Events
Movie Type	Feature
Genre	Fiction
Country	Germany, Italy
Production Year	2025
Movie Length	113'
Director	Alissa Jung
Screenplay	Alissa Jung
Cast	Arturo Gabbriellini, Gaia Rinaldi, Joy Falletti Cardillo, Juli Grabenhenrich, Luca Marinelli
Casting	Beate Kurecki, Valentina Barato
Director of Photography	Carolina Steinbrecher
Editor	David Maria Vogel, Heike Parplies
Production Designer	Cristina Bartoletti
Costume Designer	Daniela Tartari
Sound Designer	Jörg Theil
Produced by	Cécile Tollu-Polonowski, Michael Weber, Sonia Rovai, Viola Fügen

From a young age, the director worked as an actress on stage and in radio plays. In her mid-twenties, she transitioned to directing short films, documentaries, and youth theater productions. After completing a medical degree and working as a pediatrician, she studied screenwriting at the Drehbuchwerkstatt in Munich. In 2022 she directed the short film DIE MAUER MUSS WEG (2022). Her short film FARAH (2023) garnered the Goldener Spatz Award at the German Children’s Film Festival. PATERNAL LEAVE (2025) is her first feature film.

Director's Note

Almost no one can shake and hurt us as deeply as our parents do with small things, single sentences, yet almost no one can give us as much stability in our lives. These two extremes fascinated me. In PATERNAL LEAVE, I tell the story of a very specific father-daughter relationship: two people completely estranged from each other, yet still bound by genetics, social norms, and the lack of something. In this chamber drama on the beach, where we recount the story of the encounter between daughter and father in just three days, it was important for me not to judge, but to observe and empathize.
The stark solitude of a deserted winter coast in Italy was the right setting to tell the story of Leo and Paolo’s encounter. On one hand, because the harsh stubborness of this coast reflects the two main characters; on the other, because the Italian-German backstory gave me the opportunity to completely distance the daughter and father on the language level, to create boundaries in communication, and to show their estrangement even more clearly. I am moved by the dilemma that continuously arises from a past decision, just as I am moved by the hope of love. It grieves me to see how an attempt to remedy a situation, without truly addressing it with honesty—perhaps to protect ourselves or others—moves us further away from the possibility of true reconciliation.
PATERNAL LEAVE is a film about human missteps, love, family, but above all, it is a film about being honest with ourselves, about having the courage to look at who we truly are.