infant abandonment

His neorealist masterpiece 'Bicycle Thieves' and 'Umberto D.' explore the desperation and moral compromises of poverty that lead to child abandonment and exploitation.

His socially conscious films like 'Kes' and 'I, Daniel Blake' examine how systemic poverty and institutional failure force parents to abandon their responsibilities toward children.

His films 'Like Father, Like Son' and 'Shoplifters' directly confront abandonment, substitution, and non-biological kinship, exploring what constitutes family and parental obligation.