A mosquito in the ear (Nicola Rinciari, 2026 ): India | USA

It was a warm February night and it was the opening of the international film festival in Santa Barbara, California. The movie that we all came to see is “A Mosquito in the ear,” which was  directed by Nicola Riciario who is an Italian director  but has lived many years in America. People came from around the world for the opening night of one of the most important film festivals in the western world. The line for the movie wrapped around the building and down the block over 2000 people were in attendance it was jovial. The security was high and the local authorities had at least a block perhaps three blocks radius shut down. It was popping with optimism and American opulence on show to the world showcasing California. 

We all filed into the theater the smell of popcorn, and enthusiasm rippled through the air. People saw old friends or acquaintances and exchanged pleasantries with people around them as we all settled into our seats and waited patiently for “A Mosquito in the ear” to start. Then there was a brief ceremony to open the festival. The mayor of Santa Barbara gave a speech, and then the president of the festival said some words. And then it went dark just like that. We were off to India with this couple from San Francisco,who were looking to adopt a child.

When they got off the airplane you could see the humidity coming through the screen. Putting us in the middle of the Indian subcontinent in a world that is foreign and out of the minds of many people in western societies. Then they boarded a train that snaked through the Indian countryside, the light and feeling was well executed. It gave me a sense of peace like it was a new beginning or a new chapter in their lives. As they are heading to meet their adopted child who had lived her whole life in an orphanage that was run by the Catholic church. When they got there they could not believe how their adopted daughter and the other kids lived. They seemed like they had no idea of what they were doing. It also seemed to me that they were doing this out of a sense of social justice. Which made me doubt the authenticity and their motives. It was not that clear in the beginning of the movie. Were they doing this because they could not have kids of their own? Did they have some connection before to India? What made them choose India to adopt a child? Was it right to take the girl from India? Which was her natural state and then the emotional connection that she had to her caregivers, the only people she knew, was it worth it for her to go to America? For me the movie made me have more questions as it developed and it never filled in the gaps. That you would normally experience as a movie progresses gently back filling the history of the story while it unfolds.

The one thing that the Movie,”A Mosquito in the ear,” did complete is human connection; we as species across cultures are not that different. All we need is love and understanding and with those two things we can overcome all things that are given to us. And come to a level of enlightenment that seems to flow out of this film if you look for it.