On the quiet shores of Lake Como, in the timeless village of Corenno Plinio, Franco Citterio—a master woodcarver and puppeteer—selects a piece of wood smoothed by the water. In his eyes, that rough fragment already holds a presence, a possible story. Franco is the living heir to a centuries-old tradition: that of the Compagnia Carlo Colla & Figli, the world’s oldest puppet company and guardian of an art form that spans over two centuries of Italian history. From the artisanal heart of Brianza to the stages of Milan, the film follows the creative process that transforms matter into a figure, and the figure into emotion. In the workshops of the Atelier Colla, amid painted sets, hand-sewn costumes, and thousands of suspended marionettes, an ancient ritual takes place every day: breathing life into the inanimate. Working alongside Franco are Maria Grazia, Cecilia, Giovanni, and the other members of the company, bound together by a shared history and a body of knowledge passed down through the ages.