Cement Shoes (2024)

"Their life is a moving picture."

Scarpedicemente is a claustrophobic, dark comedy based on the play written by the two leads, husband and wife team John Vamvas and Olga Montes. Luigi (John Vamvas) is a delusional gangster madly in love with his ditzy gangster moll wife Holly (Olga Montes). The larger-than-life couple are celebrating their one-year wedding anniversary at a low rent Las Vegas motel. While deeply in love, Luigi and Holly share an inability to live in the present. Luigi a walking film projector, playing out the favorite gangster movies of his mind. While Holly's exuberant exterior hides a troubled past bubbling to the surface of their relationship. Sparks fly in this tale of two troubled souls mired in their hefty emotional baggage. —Donato Totaro