Ciao

CIAO is a moving story of the death of one love and the birth of another. When Mark dies suddenly in a car crash, his best friend Jeff is left behind to mourn. While reading through Mark's e-mails, Jeff comes across an extended correspondence between his friend and an Italian graphic designer named Andrea. It becomes obvious that theirs was a passionate yet unconsummated relationship, since the Italian and Mark had never met. As Jeff mails him to let him know of their mutual loss, their correspondence becomes frequent and intense. Andrea had plans to come meet Mark for the first time in Dallas; and though Jeff intended at first to ask him not to come, he reconsiders and suggests he make the trip after all. Jeff and Andrea are two very different personalities, yet when they meet in person they begin to talk in earnest – about Mark, their jobs, their countries, and finally, each other. CIAO is a beautifully-photographed film, brimming with sexual tension, about wanting to hold on as long as you can. Allesandro Calza, who plays Andrea, co-wrote the screenplay. – B.B.