The story of a child refugee’s resilience and hope
Los Angeles, CA (August 18, 2025). LARGO is a poignant new film from writer-directors Salvatore Scarpa and Max Burgoyne-Moore. The film will have its Los Angeles premiere this August at the Oscar®️-qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival. After its world premiere in July at Indy Shorts International Film Festival, another Academy Award®️-qualifying event.
Logline: A young Syrian refugee living in the UK is without his parents. But, he decides to build a boat and sail home to find them.
Synopsis: The film follows Musa. A young Syrian refugee living in the UK. Who sets out to build a boat and sail back home in search of his missing parents. Through Musa’s story, LARGO explores the themes of displacement and grief, refracted through the lens of a child’s enduring hope.
“This film is entirely told from a child’s perspective,” say Scarpa and Burgoyne-Moore. “We wanted to inspire empathy and accountability, and remind audiences of the human stories too often lost in the headlines.”
Scarpa is a Sardinian filmmaker and actor (Miss Fallaci, Catch-22). Burgoyne-Moore is a British filmmaker who also works in children’s education. The two have been collaborators since middle school. Together they founded Studio Goodluck and are currently developing their debut feature film and a TV pilot.
The Official Trailer for LARGO Directed by Salvatore Scarpa & Max Burgoyne-Moore
LARGO stars Tamsin Greig (Episodes, Friday Night Dinner). It also stars rising talent Zack Elsokari in the lead role of Musa. Ammar Haj Ahmad (The Jungle), and Kevin McNally (Pirates of the Caribbean).
The film is produced by British-Arab, actor-producer Rachid Sabitri (Grenfell: In The Words Of Survivors, Homeland, Brassic) for Slick Films. And Film London New Talent alumnus Charles Meunier (A Million days) with Plan Nine Pictures.
During production, the team launched an apprenticeship program for displaced creatives, in collaboration with the acclaimed Good Chance Theatre. They have also developed an outreach initiative to bring the film into classrooms. They do this through creative workshops, aiming to spark discussion and connection among young viewers.
Executive Producers include Chris Overton and Rebecca Harris-Turner, Mustapha Wehbi and Tony Schlesinger with support from the charity Refugee Council. The film features cinematography by award-winning DOP Rick Joaquim. The editing is done by 2-time Emmy® winner Mohamed El Manasterly. The original film score is by Stuart Hancock. The stunts are a coordination by Roy Taylor (How to Train Your Dragon, Barbie, Saltburn).
LARGO is screening at several of the world’s top short film festivals. All Oscar® and BAFTA® ️-qualifying – positioning it as a strong contender for the upcoming awards season.
About HollyShort Film Festival
An Oscar®-Qualifying short film festival based in Los Angeles. Since its establishment in 2005, HollyShorts has grown into a premier platform for independent filmmakers worldwide. As an Academy Awards-qualifying festival in four categories, HollyShorts presents a diverse selection of innovative short films across various genres.
About BitPix.
It is a streaming service for shorts films. Accessible on over 1000 devices including iOS devices, Android devices, and MACs. Including PCs, streaming media boxes such as Roku, Apple TV, and Chromecast. Bitpix was created by filmmakers for filmmakers. Born and bread out of the Oscar-qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival. Bitpix is your home to watch the best short films from around the world—every day. Bitpix News is your home for the latest news, reviews, and updates about these shorts featured on the platform.
About 88th Street Productions.
HSFF provides 88th Street Productions access to over 40,000 short films and filmmakers in all genres. The Company has long standing relationships with these filmmakers, talent and entertainment industry executives. 88th Street is able to activate these relationships to source to access projects in all genres. Alta Global Media provides access to established filmmakers, executives and talent agencies.
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