Italy’s Post Cannes Film Push
TORONTO – Now that we are entering the post-Cannes lull, with the fashion reviews and final awards wrap-ups behind us, the industry is turning its attention to the oldest and most elegant film festival in the world: The Venice Film Festival. Nestled on the Lido, the film world will gather to watch both high-concept auteur cinema and major Hollywood awards contenders. More importantly, from a domestic perspective, Italian filmmakers will return to the spotlight to compete for the legendary Golden Lion.
After being completely shut out in France, Venice directors and programmers will be looking to unleash their biggest artistic weapons for La Mostra this late summer. One heavyweight contender is surely Nanni Moretti’s Succederà questa notte, which will premiere at Venice. The film is a “romantic drama focused on four residents in an Israeli building seeking connection”.
The next shoo-in candidate for a high-profile selection is Gianni Amelio’s Nessun dolore. The film chronicles the complete upending of a young man’s life after he unwittingly causes a tragic event. Amelio is of course a festival regular, and even won the Golden Lion in 1998 for Così ridevano. Also highly anticipated is Mario Martone’s Scherzetto, a psychological drama adapted from Domenico Starnone’s book of the same title.
Starnone’s work is known for its razor-sharp deconstructions of Italian family dynamics via generational divides, and Scherzetto delivers on exactly that. It stars Toni Servello as an aging reclusive illustrator who travels back to Naples to babysit his four-year-old grandson (played by newcomer Lorenzo Perrotta). The artist is forced out of his cloistered apartment only to have his isolated lifestyle unraveled by a child.
Perhaps the most intriguing contender for Venice’s selection committee is Giovanni Veronesi’s Dio ride. Best known for his comedies both as a screenwriter and director, Veronesi’s most celebrated work is the Manuale d’amore trilogy. But with Dio ride, he ventures into period satire starring Pierfrancesco Favino and Silvio Orlando. The film also stars a strong supporting cast which includes Maurizio Lombardi (The New Pope, Ripley) and rising young Italian star Francesco Gheghi (Familia).
Based on early buzz, Dio ride is the most likely candidate to lead the charge for Italian cinema on Venice’s international stage this year. The film is set in 17th-century Tuscany, and follows a charismatic friar who uses humor and comedy to preach about God, sparking a tense philosophical battle with the strict ecclesiastical hierarchy.
The film started making waves after one of the Vatican’s highest-ranking officials, Antonio Spadaro, was offered a special screening: “Dio ride by Giovanni Veronesi is sensational. Pierfrancesco Favino is extraordinary. In fact, the whole cast is. When it comes out, go see it. It captured my soul”, said Spadaro, who is effectively the Vatican’s point man for evaluating contemporary culture.
It will be interesting to see how a story about a censored friar in the 17th century can draw parallels with the modern cancel culture and threats to free speech.
Images of “Dio ride” courtesy of Indiana Production
Massimo Volpe is a filmmaker and freelance writer from Toronto: he writes reviews of Italian films/content on Netflix
