An elegant, tense yet poignant fiction feature debut from established documentary filmmaker Leonardo di Costanzo, L'Intervallo explores the same dark wave of Neapolitan crime as Garrone's epic Gomorrah, yet from the more intimate perspective of two adolescents trapped in a small corner of that world. Chubby teen Salvatore has his lemon ice cart – his sole source of income – held hostage by a gangster who forces him to act as prison guard to Veronica, a young woman being held captive in an abandoned school. Di Costanzo delicately leads us through the pair's journey from fear of one another to friendship, as they explore the immense, labyrinthine school and begin to dream of escape from their assigned roles and from the omnipresent threat of violence haunting the film’s every frame. As audience and characters anxiously anticipate Veronica's ultimate punishment, both cling to the moments of peace and beauty in the meanwhile, knowing they cannot last.