Rifugio
2025 | Animated Short Film
A boy finds himself alone at home after his father leaves for work. He stops drawing when a persistent droning sound grows louder and louder. Curious and alarmed, he looks out the window—just as the bombing begins. In fear, he runs and hides under the piano, closing his eyes and covering his ears. Then, as if in a dream, hands appear on the keys, playing a melody that gradually rises above the sound of war.
Rifugio (in Arabic: ملجأ, meaning "shelter") explores how the war seeps into everything, even the most intimate and sacred spaces, like home. When violence invades all that remains, a child’s imagination becomes the only possible refuge.
Runtime: 1 min 56 sec
Technique: 2D digital frame-by-frame animation
Student Project | Higher Institute for Artistic Industries (ISIA Urbino)
ISIA U | Course: Animation 1 & 2 | Supervisors: Federica Iacobelli, Magda Guidi and Mara Cerri
Trailer
Initial rough storyboard
Character design (boy)
Character design (father)
Bombing scene
Still shot
Still shot