Little has been told about the thousands of Holocaust survivors that arrived in Southern Italy after the war. The local population received them with open arms and allowed these refugees to rebuild their lives under the warm Mediterranean sun. They recovered, married, and had hundreds of children, even as they prepared to immigrate to Palestine. Now, almost seven decades later, three women born in Santa Maria di Leuca return to Italy to see if they can find a trace of their parents’ brief stay there. Enchanted by the place and enamored by the people, these women cast a light on a previously little-known reality: that of life immediately after the war. This film blends rare archival footage and testimonies into a poignant story about the hope that shone from the coastline along Italy’s “boot.”
