La prima regola (2022)

The first rule, a film directed by Massimiliano D'Epiro, tells a glimpse of the historical period we are experiencing: a suburban high school, structures, students and teaching staff are the exemplary mirror of a social and economic depression that seems irreversible. To make matters worse, a few meters from the school, among the houses in the neighborhood, is the "Zoo", a migrant assistance center that has become a permanent refugee camp over the years. A professor is called to teach a remedial course for six students suspended for disciplinary reasons. They meet every afternoon, when it is already dark outside, inside a classroom on the outskirts where, after the initial hostility and mistrust, the professor manages to win the trust of the children and obtain surprising results. But when clashes break out between the population and migrants, the situation quickly gets out of hand. The city is invaded by the military, journalists, demonstrators. The tension grows. All the contradictions of a society left to itself come out. In this bleak picture, the conflicts brewing in the school and in the students' minds explode tragically.