The film follows Nello, the recently hired director of a newly developed work cooperative of former mental patients. After the closure of state psychiatric hospitals and asylums in Italy under the Basaglia Law many former patients were left with few resources and little hope of reintegrating into society. With the intention of actually improving the lives of his pupils, rather than just sedating them, Nello encourages them to expand their individual abilities and explore the wider world around them although, regardless of intention, there is sometimes a price to pushing boundaries too quickly.

"Il testimone" (i.e. The witness) is a tv show created, made and presented by Pif. Every episode consists of a "mini-reportage", filmed through a little camera that Pif brings himself. This makes the spectator feel as if most of the tv filtres are removed and thus they can almost witness the events with their own eyes and feel directly involved in the social messages brought on by the show. Themes vary: they go from interviews to famous individuals, to trips, to the work of associations or even small everyday realities.