A man must be strong A film byIlaria Ciavattini, Elsi Perino

In the outskirts of a province of the north of Italy, full of guns factories, hunting grounds and lakes for fishing, Jack starts the transition in order to let his body be what he has always felt to be: a man.

Through a routine made of part-time jobs, bar friends and no hobbies, Jack starts asking himself about what being a man means, beside the body characteristics, and what kind of a man he should be, wondering about what kind of masculine models are offered by his valley.

Gardone Val Trompia is a cement-casting burg at the bottom of a narrow valley: the Valtrompia is a sequence of towns flowing one after the other, beside metallurgic factories built in an uncontrolled time of industrialization.

Jack is 28 and he was born and raised in that valley, where he is still living. He has a part-time job, a mother that has been taking her husband’s retirement benefits since she was 32 and an older brother, who moved to the outskirts of Milan for his job as a factory worker. His father died when Jack was just 3 years old, when he was still Jessica. Now Jack decided to start the transition from female to male, in order to become what he has always felt to be: a man.

Through a daily life made of part-time jobs, pub friends and no hobbies, Jack starts asking himself about what being a man means, beside the physical characteristics, and what kind of a man he should be, wondering what type of masculine models are offered by his valley.