So real

by Matteo Montorfano

“How much do we actually resemble each other in this constant shifting between presence and absence, between being connected and disconnected from what we are living through?

How worn out the word difference has become. Who even came up with this word?! Different from whom, from what…? It makes me think of some kind of standard we are supposed to measure ourselves against, something we are expected to move towards. I feel trapped by it. Do you?”

So Real is a visual story about nights spent with friends, meeting again and finding each other. An ode to having fun, shared enjoyment and all those ordinary moments we so often take for granted.

Weekend parties become spaces for genuinely being together: a collective ritual where people come together to share an experience and enjoy the moment.

So Real questions the loneliness experienced by people with Down syndrome and intellectual disabilities, as well as by people without disabilities. It shows how what may seem different from us can, in reality, be much closer than we think.

This fanzine is part of the “And Other Chapters” series.
“And Other Chapters” is a series of Cesura Publish dedicated to showcasing the work of Cesura’s mentees through limited-edition experimental publications. It seeks to include an array of embryonic projects reflecting the various research paths undertaken by the group of emerging photographers growing under the supervision of Cesura’s members, an ongoing exchange central to the creative fabric of Cesura’s expanding factory.

Soft cover
16×20 cm / 6,2×7,8 in
44 pages, 24 photos
Indigo color digital print
First edition of 300
Printed in Italy, by TeD service
October 2026