‘Dear Dad’ is a letter to my own father. Contrary to the dads in my film, he didn’t seem to have much interest in being present in our lives, always too angry to show any love. I grew up thinking that this was normal—I didn’t know any better. Shortly before writing the film, I witnessed a dad cuddling his son and I suddenly burst out in tears. That’s when I decided to channel my pain into a celebration of those men that, despite the difficulties that life throws their way, strive to be an emotionally present father figure in the lives of their children. In the film, fatherhood is explored through the eyes of young characters because that’s when I experienced the fleeting relationship with my own father. I wanted to go back to that time, but change the ending by showing caring fathers and the love they bring to a child's life. I want to remind the audience of what it’s like to be a kid, and the experience of the world as being new and magical. I want them to feel the warmth shared between fathers and children even though, like myself, they might have never experienced it in their own life. Working with kids and shooting film on a self-funded budget was daunting at first, but after meticulous pre-production planning, my team and I collectively felt confident and decided to move forward shooting on 16mm. I was also fortunate to have a great camera team on my side, such as cinematographer Anthony Carella, and to work with outstanding young actors, Nathaniel Dickson, Hunter Nielsen, and Sydney Horton McCraw. We found our three lead actors after a long casting process that had to be done remotely to follow COVID regulations. I was looking for kids who were in touch with their feelings and had an authentic sense of wonder. I was amazed by how talented our chosen actors were—so young and yet so able to convey the right tone and emotions. We shot the script word by word and then allowed our young actors to improvise. Sometimes, we secretly turned the camera on to capture their surprisingly profound conversations. The fathers featured in our film were equally outstanding. With minimal direction, we let them just be with their kids. I wanted each dad to forget about the camera and authentically capture tender and intimate moments between parent and child. I had tears in my eyes multiple times as it was all I wish I had with my own father. At the same time, this film made me realise that good fathers do exist and I felt grateful to have had the opportunity to celebrate them.

Stella Asia Consonni is a director based between London and New York City. She was born and raised in a small town in Northern Italy, close to the Alps. At the age of 14, a camera became her favourite excuse to skip Ancient Greek class as she captured her restless friends and their journeys into adulthood. A couple of years later, Stella held her first solo exhibition in Milan with a collection of these images. At 19, Stella packed up her camera, gave a big kiss to her mamma, and moved to London to attend Photography at University of the Arts (with the help of Google Translate). Photography served as Stella’s introduction to filmmaking, the medium granting her the opportunity to dive deeper into the themes and ideas she grew up cherishing. After a painful break-up in 2018, Stella turned her emotions into a film, Love Me, exploring love between couples of all backgrounds. Dear Dad and La Forma della Bellezza (The Shape of Beauty), commissioned by Gucci, are the first narrative short films Stella has written and directed. Stella is currently developing a feature film that represents raw humanity in all its tumultuous and delicate aspects.