La vita va così

At the turn of the new millennium, on an unspoiled stretch of coast in southern Sardinia, Efisio Mulas, a solitary shepherd and custodian of times seemingly long past, defends his land from Giacomo, a developer determined to turn it into a luxury resort. The foreman at the site, Mariano, tries to convince Efisio to sell, while his daughter Francesca is torn between her attachment to her roots and the urgent need for change that grips her community. When the dispute winds up in court, a local judge from the area, Giovanna, finds herself deciding the case.

COMMENTARY
Based on a true story, this comedy is an ensemble effort about the importance of identity, the need for employment, and the tension between tradition and modernity, when different cultures, dialects, and personalities clash.

DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT
La vita va così is not only the story of a man who had the courage to say no. It is also the tale, based on a real-life case, of a community in our country forced to choose between respecting the land and giving people employment. It is in stories like this that I seek out the humanity that is hidden in each of us, still.
Virginia, Diego, Aldo, and Geppi, were at my side throughout the project. And we all walked alongside the lead actor, Ignazio Loi, an eighty-four-year-old Sardinian as guileless as a child and as wise as the shepherd he was, for seventy years. I owe everything to all the splendid Sardinian actors, and all the non-actors, who joined me to tell the story that is their own. And it isn’t only about a courageous decision. A courageous voice rings out and says that money can’t buy everything. Which is why the film is dedicated to one of the life lesson teachers whom I had the good fortune to meet: Gigi Riva.