Project Detail

I was Paolo

Paolo sitting at dining table with pet dog in the foreground
Paolo and his mother, Loretta, sitting on the sofa with per dog between them.

Synopsis

An intimate portrait of Paolo Avenati, a once-aspiring filmmaker living with a progressive fatal mitochondrial disease, and his fiercely devoted mother, Loretta. As the illness takes over Paolo's mind and body, leaving him completely dependent on his mother, she becomes his voice, revealing the quiet realities of caregiving and anticipatory grief. Moving between moments of tenderness, humour and sorrow, the film traces a mother’s enduring love as she learns that sometimes the deepest expression of love is learning how to let go.

Details

Year
2027
Type of project
Features
Running time
78 min
Format
Digital
Director
Ian McDonald
Producer
Ian McDonald, Loretta Morante-Rhodes
Editor
Ian McDonald
Director of Photography
Ian McDonald
Sound
Rob Blazey
Colourist
Matt Robinson

Categories

Production Status

Production Company

Page updates

This page was last updated on 22nd September 2026. Please let us know if we need to make any amendments or request edit access by clicking below.

See also

You may also be interested in other relevant projects in the database.

blurred out image of a face Hello You

Director: May Abdalla, Barry Gene Murphy

Year: 2026

Hello You is an autopsy of your reflection. This mirror has two sides: one that observes, and another that follows. Exploring stories of altered perception, from phantom limbs to the feeling of being a stranger in your own body, the experience stretches the split-second act of self-recognition into something you can watch unfold. Here you are asked not to look at yourself, but at the lenses through which you look.

A black and white image of a woman looking at you with a serious face and windswept short hair, with Whitehaven harbour in the background Half-Life

Director: Emma McGordon, Chris Neilan

Year: 2026

Cumbrian poet Emma McGordon wrestles with mental health and class-based barriers as she tries to turn her poem into a film.

Fekky, in a white sports jumper and blue cap, smiles and points down beside Charlie in red farmer gear. They stand in tall cornfields, with Fekky holding sweetco Hood 2 Farm

Director: Fekky

Year:

HOOD 2 FARM is a documentary series following South London rapper Fekky as he transitions from city life to learning agricultural practices in the British countryside. The show captures his hands-on experiences across various UK farms as he navigates the realities of rural life and personal growth.