Productions

The hand is played

The hand is played.

In an intergenerational story set in the Sicily of the 1960s and the presentday, Salvatore receives a problematic and inescapable inheritance from his father: the overwhelming compulsion to gamble away all that he has built in local gambling dens. His wife tries everything to help him overcome his gambling addiction and to save the family, but intriguing and serious implications complicate the family’s recovery.

Themes of the Film

• Pathological gambling in individual and family dynamics;

• The feeling of solitude and isolation felt by each member of a troubled family;

• The role of family history in determining an individual’s life choices;

• The evolution of the role of women from the 1960s to today;

•How love and enlightened reflection can help people overcome difficult pasts and achieve true personal freedom and happiness

Technical Specifications
Technical Specifications

Genre: Drama / Neorealism
Main Theme: Pathological gambling in family relationships

Setting: Sicily, 1960s and present day
Duration: 87 minutes

Director: Francesco Russo
Photo: Orazio Di Mauro / Vito Milana
Story and screenplay: Francesco Russo / Maria Russo (Psychologist and psychotherapist)
Original Music by Helmut Christopher Calabrese / Francesco Cultreri
Production: Master Movie Productions

Festivals
In October 2011, the film The Hand is Played participated and won the best film award by an emergent director at the Terra di Siena International Film Festival.

In March 2012, the film took part in the Garden State Film Festival in New Jersy (USA) and won the award for best soundtrack.