The idea
Sicily, 1578. Two boys flee religious persecution, carrying little beyond their friendship. Centuries later, a disputed memoir draws two researchers into a struggle to protect their story.
Danger, humour and unexpected kindness mark their road through Renaissance Europe. In the present, the search for missing pages becomes a fight to keep a fragile testimony from disappearing.
Michelangelo refuses to leave without his closest friend, Tobia, an autistic boy whose observations bring unexpected humour to their journey. Together they face exile, unfamiliar places and choices that put their loyalty to the test. The older Tobia narrates the childhood they shared.
Two friends. A world to cross.
Leonardo and Elizabeth follow the missing pages of Tobia’s contested testimony. As private interests threaten access to the memoir, uncovering what happened becomes inseparable from keeping its story alive.
Missing pages. A story at risk.
The creative vision
Tobia is Michelangelo’s closest friend and the film’s narrator. He finds humour in everyday encounters and contradictions that others overlook. His choices, jokes and mistakes shape the journey. Their friendship must survive both the dangers of the road and the ways they change along it.
Tobia remembers the people who offered shelter, the laughter that made fear bearable and the moments when friendship demanded a difficult choice.
In unfamiliar streets and crowded squares, a shared game can offer a moment of belonging. Who gets to take part, and who is left outside?
The warmth and worn textures of Renaissance Europe meet the cool stillness of contemporary archives. A lived journey and a fragile record unfold side by side.
A thread through history
Giovanni de’ Bardi’s 1580 work on Florentine calcio records the spectacle of an organised Renaissance game. It is one of the historical sources used to understand the world around the characters.
A historical reference for the setting; Tobia’s memoir belongs to the fiction.
Historical fiction. The characters’ journey is an original dramatic story, developed within a researched historical setting.
Behind the story · Historical research
OFFSIDE draws on historical and bibliographic research into Renaissance life, exile, travel and early ball games. These three reference points give a glimpse of that wider context.
Documented match
The match played in Piazza Santa Croce during the siege became a celebrated moment in Florence’s history. It was part of an existing tradition of calcio.
Source: Museo FerruccianoPublished treatise
Giovanni de’ Bardi’s published treatise describes Florentine calcio, its organisation and its rules: a written reference for the Renaissance setting.
Source: Bardi, 1580 · Digitised editionAssociation & codification
The Football Association is founded in London and agrees its rules that year. This marks the codification of modern association football.
Source: The Football Association · HistoryChronology alone does not establish a direct line from Florentine calcio to modern football or rugby. The research dossier distinguishes documented sources from dramatic invention and is available privately to prospective production partners.
The project
In development
OFFSIDE is a feature film project created by Aaron Rutigliano, with a treatment, screenplay draft and a separate series adaptation in development.
Seeking a production partner for the next stage of development. The images present the project’s intended atmosphere; the film has not yet been produced.
Film materials
For producers, creative collaborators and prospective partners, the project materials are available directly from Aaron Rutigliano.
Confidential documents · Available on request
The story and research continue to develop. Contact Aaron for the latest versions.
Production & creative enquiries
To read the documents, request the current versions directly from Aaron.
Request project materials aaronrutigliano@icloud.com