Seventies. In the unprecedented setting of an arbëresh community (the Albanians of Italy) in a small town nestled in the hills of Ionian Calabria, Marco, a thirteen-year-old boy, finds himself having to manage a complicated family situation. By chance he discovers that her sister Elisa, a university student in Cosenza, has a reaction with a married man much older than her.

Clara and Felice struggle to raise their three children in 1970s Rome. The eldest, Andrea, is transgender and yearns for another life where he gets to live as the boy he knows himself to be. Clara instinctively strives to protect her son by escaping into their imaginations to defuse family tensions.

On the night before retirement, police lieutenant Amore is called to investigate the off-duty death of his longtime partner, who fell prey of an illegal scheme Amore himself was secretly part of.

The Hidden Sea combines cinema, theater and documentary. Freely inspired by Saint-Exupéry’s fable, The Little Prince, this film tells the story of a young immigrant’s journey through the faces and wounds of Southern Italy. An attempt to reclaim his own history and perhaps his own future. But he is not alone on this journey. The narrator’s words are in fact confused with those of the many characters encountered and above all with the voice of the places crossed. The Hidden Sea is a reflection on the saving power of art.

Giacomo and Samuele, two young boys, were born and grew up in a small town in south Italy. Although it overlooks the open sea, it is a close-minded town. In this ancient town, the two boys quickly develop a strong bond, which goes beyond friendship. They secretly commit themselves to escaping to a place where they can freely express their feelings.