Looking for Alibrandi is a 2000 Australian coming-of-age[3][4] film directed by Kate Woods and written by Melina Marchetta (which she adapted from her 1992 novel of the same name).
The film is set in 1990s Sydney, New South Wales and features a cast of Australian actors, including Pia Miranda as Josephine Alibrandi, the film's main character; Anthony LaPaglia as her father, Michael Andretti, who left her and her mother before her birth; and Kick Gurry as Josie's love interest, Jacob Coote.
Josephine (nicknamed "Josie") Alibrandi (Pia Miranda) is an ambitious and outspoken 17-year-old Italian-Australian teenager who lives in Glebe, an inner-western suburb in Sydney, and is in her final year of high school.
Josie is a scholarship student (also vice-captain) at the prestigious Catholic girls school St Martha’s (which is located in the eastern suburbs of Sydney), where she is completing her HSC.
They dance together at Josie’s Year 12 formal, and even go on a date, but their personalities clash and they mutually decide to not pursue things further.
Katia revealing this secret helps improve her relationship with Christina and Josie, and they subsequently grow closer as a family.
[citation needed] The film, while not well known in international markets, has received critical acclaim for its insights into both the second-generation-migrant experience and the universal human condition.