In 1983, Franz Paludetto acquired Rivara Castle at the foot of the Italian Alps. A century earlier, artists from all over Europe had gathered here to establish the Rivara School of Painting. We witness the story of Italy during the latter half of the 20th century.
The Pavilion on the Water is a cinematic journey into the world of Venetian architect Carlo Scarpa and his passion for Japanese culture. Japan, to him, was an inspirational universe but also the place where he eventually died in 1978, at the height of his career, while retracing the steps of wandering poet Matsuo Bashō. Through the words of his son, some of his collaborators and a Japanese philosopher, the documentary unfolds and quests after the sense of beauty. A nostalgic feeling permeates the whole film for that rare event which is the birth of an artist. Although he passed away, he left behind a work that, still to this day, delights and amuses.
Pepsi is an individual in sexual transition looking for a stable job as a caregiver. Former member of MILF, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front active in an island of southern Philippines, she escaped from her country to work as a nurse for over 10 years in Gaddafi's Libya. Because of gender discrimination, she has been forced to join the flow of refugees.
Princesa is a young Nigerian woman who arrived in Sardinia as a victim of human trafficking. There is a syncretism on the island, between the beliefs of a primitive animism, traditional Christianity and the more recent faith of the Nigerian Evangelical church. Princesa's face reflects an inner world dominated by fear, the break with her own land, and the desire to make good in a new one. Footage shot during a Nigerian funeral rite and a sequence from a Nollywood drama both contain biographical traces of the lead character. Princesa has made a choice, but she is not yet free.
