The Dough
Date:
December 15, 2022
The Dough
The Dough
by Carlotta Napolitano
KaBoGa art&films | Spain
Documentary | 1st feature
Logline
Near Barcelona, several families share a 16th-century farmhouse, building a common home and way of life. As community ideals clash with personal desires, tensions grow, testing their project and relationships.
Synopsis
A few kilometers from Barcelona stands Can Gabarra, a 16th-century Catalan farmhouse surrounded by trees and fields. Its thick walls symbolize the future for its new inhabitants. José, Natacha, Stefano, Celso, and Frana -with their three children- invested all their savings to renovate it and turn it into a family home and a cultural center open to the public. Their dream was to live collectively, believing that sharing would be the foundation of their new life.
Recently, a new family joined them: Alex, Carlotta —the film’s director— and their daughter, Rio. Although they share strong ideals, the constant renovations and the differing needs of each member generate tensions that threaten the project’s harmony. Celso feels the burden of always being responsible. Frana struggles to sustain the ideals of shared living and parenting. José wonders if he can still distinguish his own desires from those of the group. Stefano demands more privacy to focus on the cultural activities, while Natacha, who moved there for love, seeks her own space.
These legitimate but conflicting needs create an unspoken fear: that the group might eventually fall apart. No one dares to address it openly. The possibility of failure has become a taboo, emerging when individual desires outweigh the collective ones. Meanwhile, as the adults wrestle with doubts and ideals, little Rio grows up with the other children, embodying the freedom of a generation that imagines new ways of living together.
Director’s Profile
Carlotta Napolitano is an Italian who lives in Barcelona. She divides her studies and initial professional activity between Naples and Rome. She has a degree in anthropology and has trained in film and editing. She began developing her career by collaborating with various associations on community and archival projects related to migrant communities in marginalized neighborhoods.
She spent almost two years traveling outside Europe, during which time she completed several narrative and visual projects. In 2015, she moved to Barcelona to pursue a Master’s Degree in Creative Documentary, settling in the city to further develop her audiovisual work.
Her short documentary ORCHID’S HEAD (2015) received multiple awards, including a win at Visions du Réel, the Best Directing Award at Sitges Film Festival -SGAE authorship award-, and a Special Jury Mention at the Costa Rica Film Festival. In 2018, she directed the short fiction film ANABASIS, which won Best Short Film and Best Foreign Film at Indie Short Fest L.A.
In 2019, her documentary short LAGO DOS NENOS was awarded the Cíes World Heritage Artistic Residency at Olhares do Mediterrâneo. In 2022, she worked as scriptwriter and editor on the short fiction film EL SOLDAO, which received the award for Best Spanish Film at Zinebi and was screened at Málaga, Cerdanya and FIC Bueu.
Most recently, she co-wrote and co-directed the documentary series CIRKUS (2025) alongside Alejandro Cabrera for La Xarxa+.
Company Profile
KaBoGa is an independent production company that specializes in films linked to reality and focused on social issues. We have a young, sensitive, feminine, and daring spirit. Founded in 2007 by young people eager to open their eyes to a fresh look at the world, we produce documentaries and fiction films that reach audiences at numerous international festivals.
CIRKUS (2025), documentary series written and directed by Carlotta Napolitano and Alejandro Cabrera for La Xarxa+.
LIGHT FALLS VERTICAL (2023, co-production with Gris Medio and Novena Nube), feature documentary by Efthymia Zymvragaki. It was nominated for the Feroz Awards and shortlisted for the EFA Awards. IDFA, Thessaloniki, FICCI, Crossing Europe, DOK.Fest, Málaga, Major Docs.
SINJAR (2022), fiction feature by Anna M. Bofarull. Cannes L’Atélier- Cinéfondation, awarded at EWIP Cologne, FICCAT and Amsterdam KFF. Sao Paulo, Sanfic Chile, Málaga, Cambridge, Berlin KFF, BCN, London KFF, Santander – Colombia.
BARCELONA 1714 (2019), fiction feature by Anna M. Bofarull. FICCAT, Global Dominicana.
SONATA FOR CELLO (2015), fiction feature by Anna M. Bofarull. Montréal. Awarded at Idyllwild, Philippines, Milano, Chichester, Houston. Málaga, Valladolid, Gijón, London.
HAMMADA (2010), feature documentary by Anna M. Bofarull. Montréal, Sao Paulo, Thessaloniki, Las Palmas, Dubai, Cinespaña Toulouse.
FOOTNOTES (2009), feature documentary by Anna M. Bofarull. Awarded at Reykjavik. Melbourne, Cinespaña Toulouse, REC, Hamburg.
FOOTNOTES (2009), feature documentary by Anna M. Bofarull. Awarded at Reykjavik. Melbourne, Cinespaña Toulouse, REC, Hamburg.