After his wife abandons him without explanation, leaving him to care for their two young children, he is bereft – barely able to cook a decent meal or keep the household running.

So when a recently-arrived Italian colleague suggests that his sister, Maria, act as surrogate homemaker, Leo reluctantly accepts.

Featuring an Italo-Australian cast, Aaron Wilson’s Little Tornadoes distils the many upheavals of 1970s Australia – from immigration and post-war resettlement, to urbanisation, anti–Vietnam War protests and the women’s liberation movement – into a narrative about one man’s struggle to adapt.

The film is part of a larger project by the director, which explores the effects of World War II on a family in rural Australia and their repercussions over three generations.

The first part takes place in 1941, and has already been adapted into the feature film Canopy (2013), while the second part – Little Tornadoes – is set in 1971, and third and final part will be set in the present day.

Wilson grew up in the town of Tocumwal, just across the NSW border, surrounded by a strong community of Italian immigrants, mainly from Sicily and Calabria.

Interestingly, cinematographer Stefan Duscio (who recently worked with Robert Connolly on the blockbuster film The Dry) grew up in Cobram, just a stone’s throw from Tocumwal, where his father had migrated to from Sicily.

“I grew up surrounded by the colours of Italy, the life, the language and the food,” Wilson said.

“There was an energy and enthusiasm; I wanted to bring that into a story about country Australia in a way I haven’t seen in a film before.

“I wanted the kids in the film to feel that energy; they’re in this situation that’s very heavy and tough but once Maria arrives, she brings this colour, energy and life.

“For me it’s symbolic of why diversity is important and how we celebrate that diversity.”

To discover more about the sentiment during that particular chapter in Australian history, Wilson collected testimonies and accounts from locals in his hometown.

To help the two leading characters, Mark Leonard Winter and Fabio Motta, get into character, Wilson took them to live in Tocumwal for a few weeks, where they even worked in a manufacturing plant that has been producing pump parts for farmers since the 1940s.

Meanwhile, Motta and his Sicilian mother coached well-known TV personality Silvia Colloca in her role as Maria, to ensure that her southern accent was authentic.

The film was elevated with the contribution of acclaimed writer, Christos Tsiolkas, who wrote Maria’s narration.

“[Tsiolkas] came on board after we shot the film,” Wilson explained.

“I knew I wanted to put a narration into the film but I didn’t want to write it myself; I wanted to work with a writer who understood the vulnerability of the characters.

“He looked at it through the lens of someone whose parents came to this country, so he could understand those differences very acutely.

“It created another layer to the film, providing a more intimate insight into this world from an outsider’s perspective.”

Little Tornadoes will premiere on August 12 at the beautifully restored Capitol Cinema, as part of the Melbourne International Film Festival.

For more information and tickets, head to the website.