Red Like the Sky (Rosso Come il Cielo)

Dir: Cristiano Bortone (2006)

WINNER: BEST FEATURE FILM, SAO PAOLO FILM FESTIVAL

WINNER: YOUTH JURY AWARD, SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL

WINNER: BEST FILM, SYRACUSE FILM FESTIVAL

WINNER: BEST FILM, PALM BEACH FILM FESTIVAL

WINNER: BEST DIRECTOR, PALM BEACH FILM FESTIVAL

WINNER: AUDIENCE AWARD, DURBAN FILM FESTIVAL

1970: Mirco is a Tuscan child in love with cinema. He loses his eyesight in an accident. At that time, the law regards blind people as handicapped, and does not allow them to attend public school, his parents are forced to send him to an institution. Here, the Mirco finds an old reel to reel tape player and discovers that in slicing up the tape and piecing it back together and using only the sounds, he can create fairy tales. As the management at the Institute try to stop Mirco from pursuing his hobby, he gradually convinces the other blind children to discover their own talents and a sense of normality and achievement.

Mirco Mencacci, despite his blindness, went on to create sound design for over 400 different projects in Italy, and also create and develop sound recording studios in Tuscany and Rome. This is his story.