GIÒ’S DUNK
A STORY OF REBIRTH THROUGH VOLLEYBALL AND FRIENDSHIP
IN THE NEW TEEN SERIES
“GIÒ’S DUNK”
The new live-action series produced by Stand By Me in collaboration with Rai Kids debuts
A story of rebirth through sport and friendship is at the heart of the new series “Effetto Giò,” produced by Stand By Me in collaboration with Rai Kids. It is available as a box set on RaiPlay and airs from Monday, May 20th, every day at 2:45 PM and 8:00 PM on Rai Gulp.
“Effetto Giò” is a coming-of-age story featuring Giò, a 15-year-old girl with a dream: to become a volleyball champion, just like her parents, who fell in love on the court. Her life in Rome seems perfect, but everything changes in an instant: she has a falling out with her friends, quits the volleyball team, and loses her parents in a car accident. She is then forced to move to her uncle Rino’s house, a virtual stranger to her, and rebuild her life in a small provincial town far from her old life, friends, and routines.
It’s a new beginning for Giò, who must overcome the pain of losing her parents and the longing for volleyball, which she gave up due to a bullying incident within her old team. Having witnessed the humiliation of a teammate without intervening is a guilt too great for Giò to face; she preferred to quit volleyball rather than confront what she did. She desperately wants to rekindle that dream and find refuge in it, but she feels stuck.
Fortunately, destiny steps in to stir things up: with the help of her new school friends, Giò rediscovers her passion and starts playing again. Through sports, she also mends her relationship with her uncle Rino, her father’s brother, with whom she initially has a turbulent relationship. On her path to rebirth, Giò also has to deal with her family’s past: rummaging through her parents’ memories, she finds mini DVs from the ’90s that allow her to relive their youth on the volleyball court, their love, their victories, and their defeats, just as she is experiencing them in the present. But as she delves deeper into the past, Giò uncovers a long-hidden secret that will challenge all her certainties and the new life she has painstakingly rebuilt.
The narrative provides ample space for themes of friendship, love, the joys, and struggles of growing up, but it also offers an opportunity to reflect on how sports are fundamental in building identity and interacting with others on the journey to adulthood.