Following the success of the film adaptation of The Eight Mountains, Paolo Cognetti returns to his beloved mountain landscape in the Italian Alps with Fiore mio, a poetic exploration of Monte Rosa and its inhabitants. Filmed by Ruben Impens, Felix Van Groeningen's regular Flemish cameraman, Cognetti brings his ode to the power of nature and the search for an authentic existence with wide, hushed images and melancholic undertones.

Making his debut as a director, the Italian author also takes on the lead role. Together with his dog Laki, Cognetti traverses the imposing mountain massif, where he interacts with various inhabitants: an old childhood friend, a mountain guide and a former Nepalese sherpa. 

Their encounters lead to musings on the beauty and challenges of life in the mountains, as well as climate change, friendship and unfulfilled dreams. Step by step, they seek a balance between man and nature. Suzanne Simard describes it aptly: 'Fiore mio is not about how we can save the mountain. It's about how the mountain can save us.'

DIRECTION: PAOLO COGNETTI; GENRE: DOCUMENTARY; WITH: PAOLO COGNETTI; 2025; ITALY, BELGIUM; 1H20; ITIALIAN SPOKEN, DUTCH AND FRENCH SUBTITLES