160 Films (and Series) to Watch Before You’re 16 (and Even After)
A cross-generational book for teens, families, teachers, and film lovers of all ages: not just a guide, but a map to the movies that shape who we are — before sixteen, and long after.
Cinema can open worlds, spark emotions, and shape how we see ourselves. Award-winning author and screenwriter Manlio Castagna has created a guide to 160 essential films and series that every young person should know — and that adults will enjoy rediscovering.
The selection ranges from Chaplin’s timeless comedy to the visionary worlds of Studio Ghibli, from Spielberg’s genius to Pixar’s magic, alongside contemporary titles and hidden gems from many cultures. Each entry is enriched by Castagna’s witty and passionate voice, transforming the guide into a journey of discovery where every film becomes an opportunity to reflect on friendship, family, courage, identity, and dreams.
By the same author or illustrator
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Dedalo & Dharma
It’s a summer evening when, without even realizing it, Dharma comes out of the cinema screen to escape certain death and meet that very spectator, Dedalo, who comes to the Kazan Cinema every single day to see her. Dedalo is thirteen and has an unbridled passion for films and Dharma, who’s the same age, is a character who escaped a destiny which,…
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Barriera
In Barriera, everyone’s fate is written in their blood. And you can’t change that. Sixteen-year-old Yasin lives in Barriera, a tough neighbourhood on the outskirts of Turin. He’s caught between his first love and a brother who’s just been released from prison, between who he wants to be and who the world expects him to be. Malik, his brother, is trying…
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Goodwill
One stormy night, a boy returns from the forest. But he is not alone. In November 1851, a caravan of settlers reached the desolate shores of what would become Seattle. They were exhausted, wet and full of hope. Among them were Jeanette and Henry Goodwill, who a few days after their arrival welcomed the birth of their first child: Ambrosius. But…
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The Evil Twenty
What would the stories we love be without their villains? They give weight to the shadows of the human soul. They let us feel contrast, complexity, danger—and sometimes, even recognition. In The Evil Twenty, Manlio Castagna invites readers on a journey into the minds of twenty of the greatest villains of all time, in twenty powerful short stories that explore…
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Snot & Splash
What if one day all the holes disappeared from the world? Would doughnuts still be doughnuts? How would you open a door without a keyhole? The residents of Elsewhere have a serious problem: someone is stealing all the holes. Keyholes, doughnuts, birdboxes… nothing is safe. And to make things worse, the weather has gone completely mad—garbage is falling from the sky.…
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Darkmare
A surreal night. A haunted amusement park. One boy’s quest to save a dream. Twelve-year-old Guido Anselmo lives for cinema. But when he discovers the mysterious biography of Klaus Voynik — a cursed filmmaker who died under strange circumstances — and realises the final chapter is missing, he’s determined to uncover the truth. His search leads him to an abandoned film studio-turned-amusement…
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Draconis Chronicon
Five children on a journey. A legendary dragon. An epic adventure in a magical Middle Ages. Salerno, 1066. A preacher wanders the streets announcing the end of the world: “The Beast is stirring again! Fear the dragon, because the day of the eclipse is near!” The young Barliario doesn’t pay attention to those words of doom, but that same evening his…
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The Night of the Malombre
March 2, 1944. A freight train packed with desperate passengers departs Naples in the dead of night, heading for the Lucanian countryside, where food might still be found. On board are hundreds of civilians: smugglers, mothers, soldiers, children, and three teens who don’t know each other — yet. Brando, a boy forced to grow up too soon, climbs aboard to find…
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Try Not To Sleep
Young and bold, Baladine is the brilliant mind behind De Profundis, a podcast that each week captivates a wide audience of true crime and horror enthusiasts, recounting real and terrifying stories “straight from the heart of darkness”. But now she’s stuck in a creative block that threatens to drag her back into the abyss she fought so hard to escape.…
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The Beasts
Three deadbeat robbers with animal nicknames, Lynx, Buzzard and Toad, masked with rough cotton sacks slung over their heads, take shelter in the former Boeri sanitorium in Tresigallo. A coincidence leads them to cross paths with a class of Ferrara high school students on a trip to the old hospital and so they decide to take them hostage. The Boeri,…
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No One Is Coming To Get You
During a school trip to the ruins of Herculaneum, Calista—Cali—finds a scrap of paper hidden in a crack in the wall. The message is written in clumsy handwriting: a desperate cry for help, a whisper of loneliness. She replies, slipping a note back into the wall. And just like that, the dialogue begins. The person — or thing — on the…
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Of Fire and Silk
In the summer of 2024, Lianna arrives in Solferino to visit her mother’s grave, where an encounter with Asé, the mysterious cemetery guardian, opens the door to a second beginning. In the summer of 1858, two siblings, Sante and Altea, and Visio, ‘reborn’ after a near-fatal encounter, experience love and friendship against the backdrop of one of Italy’s bloodiest battles.…
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The Mysteries of Mercurio 3 – Caravaggio: Love Wins All
An old man who lives in the top of a tower in the heart of Florence challenges three friends to a dangerous mission: to discover and solve the hidden mysteries of the art world! To Nina, Caravaggio is the greatest painter of all. And she can hardly believe her eyes when she, Lori and Jamal come across the great maestro…
