Beta Film has announced a half-dozen sales to European public broadcasters on high-end period drama “La Storia,” which is Italian pubcaster Rai’s biggest event show of the year and is world premiering at the Rome Film Fest.
The sweeping eight-episode saga, set in Italy during the final years of World War II and its immediate aftermath, is based on a globally bestselling novel by the late great Elsa Morante, whom “My Brilliant Friend” author Elena Ferrante often cites as her primary literary reference.
Set mostly in Rome between 1940 and 1948, “La Storia” looks at fascism and Italy’s early postwar period through a female prism. Ida, a half Jewish widow with a teenage son named Nino, is raped by a drunken German soldier and gets pregnant with Useppe. The tale is centered on how she survives her predicament.
Ahead of the Rome Film Fest premiere of its first two episodes on Friday,...
The sweeping eight-episode saga, set in Italy during the final years of World War II and its immediate aftermath, is based on a globally bestselling novel by the late great Elsa Morante, whom “My Brilliant Friend” author Elena Ferrante often cites as her primary literary reference.
Set mostly in Rome between 1940 and 1948, “La Storia” looks at fascism and Italy’s early postwar period through a female prism. Ida, a half Jewish widow with a teenage son named Nino, is raped by a drunken German soldier and gets pregnant with Useppe. The tale is centered on how she survives her predicament.
Ahead of the Rome Film Fest premiere of its first two episodes on Friday,...
- 10/20/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Beta at MipTV has unveiled a visually dazzling first trailer for period drama “La Storia” that will be Italian pubcaster Rai’s biggest event show this year.
The sweeping eight-episode saga is based on a globally bestselling novel by the late great Elsa Morante – whom “My Brilliant Friend” author Elena Ferrante often cites as her primary literary reference – set during the final years of World War II and its immediate aftermath in Italy.
Dierected by Francesca Archibugi (“The Hummingbird”), the high-end show stars Italian A-list actor Jasmine Trinca – who last year was a member of the Cannes jury – as Ida, a single mother of two sons, who hides her Jewish heritage and fights against poverty and persecution. The cast also comprises Asia Argento (“xXx – Triple X”), Elio Germano (“Leopardi”) and Valerio Mastandrea (“Perfect Strangers”).
Set mostly in Rome between 1940 and 1948 “La Storia” looks at fascism, World War II and Italy...
The sweeping eight-episode saga is based on a globally bestselling novel by the late great Elsa Morante – whom “My Brilliant Friend” author Elena Ferrante often cites as her primary literary reference – set during the final years of World War II and its immediate aftermath in Italy.
Dierected by Francesca Archibugi (“The Hummingbird”), the high-end show stars Italian A-list actor Jasmine Trinca – who last year was a member of the Cannes jury – as Ida, a single mother of two sons, who hides her Jewish heritage and fights against poverty and persecution. The cast also comprises Asia Argento (“xXx – Triple X”), Elio Germano (“Leopardi”) and Valerio Mastandrea (“Perfect Strangers”).
Set mostly in Rome between 1940 and 1948 “La Storia” looks at fascism, World War II and Italy...
- 4/18/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
On a cobblestone-paved square in the ancient town of Tivoli, north-east of Rome, in late September, a large crew is prepping to shoot a key scene in Italian period drama “La Storia,” which will be pubcaster Rai’s biggest event show next year.
Based on a bestselling novel by the late great Elsa Morante – whom “My Brilliant Friend” author Elena Ferrante often cites as her primary literary reference – “La Storia” is set during the final years of World War II and its immediate aftermath in Italy.
The eight-episode series, being unveiled by Beta Film to buyers at Rome’s Mia content market, stars Italian A-list actor Jasmine Trinca – who earlier this year was a member of the Cannes jury – as Ida, a single mother of two sons, who hides her Jewish heritage and fights against poverty and persecution.
The Tivoli square, where costumed extras are taking their positions, is a...
Based on a bestselling novel by the late great Elsa Morante – whom “My Brilliant Friend” author Elena Ferrante often cites as her primary literary reference – “La Storia” is set during the final years of World War II and its immediate aftermath in Italy.
The eight-episode series, being unveiled by Beta Film to buyers at Rome’s Mia content market, stars Italian A-list actor Jasmine Trinca – who earlier this year was a member of the Cannes jury – as Ida, a single mother of two sons, who hides her Jewish heritage and fights against poverty and persecution.
The Tivoli square, where costumed extras are taking their positions, is a...
- 10/14/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Beta Film has come on board to co-produce eight-part Italian period drama series “La Storia,” based on Elsa Morante’s bestselling novel, continuing its successful partnership with Picomedia. Shooting for the production has started in Rome under the helm of director Francesca Archibugi (“Romanzo famigliare”), before moving to Naples and Lazio later in the year. Beta handles world sales.
The cast is led by Jasmine Trinca (“The Gunman”), starring as Ida, a single mother of two sons, who hides her Jewish heritage and fights against poverty and persecution during the end of World War II and post-war Rome. Also starring are Asia Argento (“xXx – Triple X”), Elio Germano (“Leopardi”) and Valerio Mastandrea (“Perfect Strangers”).
The series adapts one of the most critically acclaimed novels of the 20th century, published in two dozen languages. Morante is a landmark figure of feminist literature and the literary role model of Italian star author Elena Ferrante,...
The cast is led by Jasmine Trinca (“The Gunman”), starring as Ida, a single mother of two sons, who hides her Jewish heritage and fights against poverty and persecution during the end of World War II and post-war Rome. Also starring are Asia Argento (“xXx – Triple X”), Elio Germano (“Leopardi”) and Valerio Mastandrea (“Perfect Strangers”).
The series adapts one of the most critically acclaimed novels of the 20th century, published in two dozen languages. Morante is a landmark figure of feminist literature and the literary role model of Italian star author Elena Ferrante,...
- 6/30/2022
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Other winners include Italian star Sophia Loren and two Netflix features.
Giorgio Diritti’s Hidden Away was the big winner at Italy’s David di Donatello awards on Tuesday (May 11), winning seven awards including best picture, best director and lead actor for Elio Germano.
The drama, which chronicles the difficult life of Italian painter Antonio Ligabue, is produced by Palomar with Rai Cinema, and premiered at the 2020 Berlinale, where Elio Germano won the Silver Bear for best actor. The film, which was the frontrunner going into the night with 15 nominations, also picked up prizes for cinematography, hair artist and sound.
Giorgio Diritti’s Hidden Away was the big winner at Italy’s David di Donatello awards on Tuesday (May 11), winning seven awards including best picture, best director and lead actor for Elio Germano.
The drama, which chronicles the difficult life of Italian painter Antonio Ligabue, is produced by Palomar with Rai Cinema, and premiered at the 2020 Berlinale, where Elio Germano won the Silver Bear for best actor. The film, which was the frontrunner going into the night with 15 nominations, also picked up prizes for cinematography, hair artist and sound.
- 5/12/2021
- by Gabriele Niola
- ScreenDaily
Giorgio Diritti’s biopic “Hidden Away,” about crazed primitivist painter Antonio Ligabue, was the big winner at Italy’s 66th David di Donatello Awards, the country’s top film prizes.
The Davids were held with an in-person ceremony aired from two venues amid a strong spirit of restart as Italian movie theaters gradually begin to reopen.
“Hidden Away,” which was the frontrunner with 15 nominations, scored seven statuettes including best picture, director and actor honors won by Elio Germano who tackles “the fiendishly difficult role” of the self-taught artist “with customary gusto,” as Variety critic Jay Weissberg noted in his review.
The best actress statuette went to Sophia Loren for her role as Madame Rosa, a former prostitute and Holocaust survivor, in Netflix Original “The Life Ahead,” directed by her son Edoardo Ponti. The Italian icon’s return to the big screen after a decade had been snubbed by the Oscars earlier this year.
The Davids were held with an in-person ceremony aired from two venues amid a strong spirit of restart as Italian movie theaters gradually begin to reopen.
“Hidden Away,” which was the frontrunner with 15 nominations, scored seven statuettes including best picture, director and actor honors won by Elio Germano who tackles “the fiendishly difficult role” of the self-taught artist “with customary gusto,” as Variety critic Jay Weissberg noted in his review.
The best actress statuette went to Sophia Loren for her role as Madame Rosa, a former prostitute and Holocaust survivor, in Netflix Original “The Life Ahead,” directed by her son Edoardo Ponti. The Italian icon’s return to the big screen after a decade had been snubbed by the Oscars earlier this year.
- 5/11/2021
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
HBO’s sci-fi western “Westworld,” is the heavy favorite to win for contemporary and fantasy production design. The question is whether two nominations for both its western theme park and futuristic programming center actually doubles its chances — or cancels it out. Competition comes from the dystopian minimalism of “The Handmaid’s Tale,” the richly Gothic “Penny Dreadful” (nominated last year), and the Vatican beauty of “The Young Pope.”
Meanwhile, the royalty glam of Peter Morgan’s “The Crown” is the heavy favorite to win for period production design, with competition from the Old Hollywood trappings of “Feud: Bette and Joan,” the nightmarish ’80s sci-fi of “Stranger Things,” the alt history of “The Man in the High Castle” (nominated last year), and perennial contender, “Masters of Sex.”
The Dueling Dystopias
The imagination and scope of “Westworld” was unrivaled. In re-imagining Michael Crichton’s adult theme park gone berserk, Jonathan Nolan and...
Meanwhile, the royalty glam of Peter Morgan’s “The Crown” is the heavy favorite to win for period production design, with competition from the Old Hollywood trappings of “Feud: Bette and Joan,” the nightmarish ’80s sci-fi of “Stranger Things,” the alt history of “The Man in the High Castle” (nominated last year), and perennial contender, “Masters of Sex.”
The Dueling Dystopias
The imagination and scope of “Westworld” was unrivaled. In re-imagining Michael Crichton’s adult theme park gone berserk, Jonathan Nolan and...
- 8/7/2017
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
Movie directors and their cinematographers continue to migrate to TV for greater visual storytelling. This season, the Wachowskis got bolder in the second installment of their Netflix sci-fi mind-bender, “Sense8,” with Oscar-winning Dp John Toll (“Legends of the Fall,” “Braveheart”), and Paolo Sorrentino and Jean-Marc Vallée improved HBO’s slate with “The Young Pope” and “Big Little Lies,” assisted by their go-to DPs, Luca Bigazzi and Yves Bélanger.
While all three cinematographers were honored with Emmy nominations, they had to make certain adjustments to the production demands of their shows. Yet they persevered through a combination of ever-increasing tech availability and insightful aesthetic choices.
Getting in Tune with “Sense8”
In “Sense8,” created by J. Michael Straczynski and Lana and Lilly Wachowski, eight seemingly disparate people from around the globe become linked through telepathy and astral projection. It’s all about empathy and evolution, and Toll’s eye-popping imagery relies on...
While all three cinematographers were honored with Emmy nominations, they had to make certain adjustments to the production demands of their shows. Yet they persevered through a combination of ever-increasing tech availability and insightful aesthetic choices.
Getting in Tune with “Sense8”
In “Sense8,” created by J. Michael Straczynski and Lana and Lilly Wachowski, eight seemingly disparate people from around the globe become linked through telepathy and astral projection. It’s all about empathy and evolution, and Toll’s eye-popping imagery relies on...
- 7/28/2017
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
“The Young Pope” explores faith and doubt, with Jude Law as a rogue American Pope driven to shake up the system. To that end, director Paolo Sorrentino and his long-time cinematographer Luca Bigazzi overturned visual convention for their first TV series together.
“From my very first meeting with Paolo we said that the film should have strong contrasts, contrasts almost antithetical to the TV style,” said Bigazzi. “Extremely strong lights, almost blinding, and extreme darkness, bordering on the limits of visibility. Our approach didn’t only want to be a sterile challenge against the age-old and now outdated conventions of television (which in Italy are still the rule), but mainly wanted to be a visual way of interpreting a story that talks about holiness, perdition, transparency, mystery, unspeakable secrets and revealed truths.”
Opening up the Vatican
“The Young Pope” is set mainly in the inaccessible Vatican in Rome. Therefore, visual...
“From my very first meeting with Paolo we said that the film should have strong contrasts, contrasts almost antithetical to the TV style,” said Bigazzi. “Extremely strong lights, almost blinding, and extreme darkness, bordering on the limits of visibility. Our approach didn’t only want to be a sterile challenge against the age-old and now outdated conventions of television (which in Italy are still the rule), but mainly wanted to be a visual way of interpreting a story that talks about holiness, perdition, transparency, mystery, unspeakable secrets and revealed truths.”
Opening up the Vatican
“The Young Pope” is set mainly in the inaccessible Vatican in Rome. Therefore, visual...
- 6/26/2017
- by Bill Desowitz
- Indiewire
The Young Pope production designer Ludovica Ferrario also slated to attend film and TV forum.
Documentary filmmaker Sergey Loznitsa (My Joy), special effects creator Colin Arthur, and HBO executive Steve Matthews are among guests set to attend the sixth Visegrad Film Forum in Slovakia.
Loznitsa’s latest film Austerlitz premiered at Venice last year. Arthur is known for his decades of work in special effects and makeup, with his credits including Class Of The Titans, Conan The Barbarian and The NeverEnding Story.
Matthews is HBO Europe’s vice president and executive producer for drama development, Central Europe, Nordic and Spain; his credits include drama series The Borgias.
Further guests at the forum will include The Young Pope and Youth production designer Ludovica Ferrario, and Pavla Janoušková Kubečková, Tomáš Hrubý and Štěpán Hulík, who collorated on Burning Bush and Wasteland for HBO Europe.
The Visegrad Film Forum will take place at the Faculty of Film and Television in Bratislava...
Documentary filmmaker Sergey Loznitsa (My Joy), special effects creator Colin Arthur, and HBO executive Steve Matthews are among guests set to attend the sixth Visegrad Film Forum in Slovakia.
Loznitsa’s latest film Austerlitz premiered at Venice last year. Arthur is known for his decades of work in special effects and makeup, with his credits including Class Of The Titans, Conan The Barbarian and The NeverEnding Story.
Matthews is HBO Europe’s vice president and executive producer for drama development, Central Europe, Nordic and Spain; his credits include drama series The Borgias.
Further guests at the forum will include The Young Pope and Youth production designer Ludovica Ferrario, and Pavla Janoušková Kubečková, Tomáš Hrubý and Štěpán Hulík, who collorated on Burning Bush and Wasteland for HBO Europe.
The Visegrad Film Forum will take place at the Faculty of Film and Television in Bratislava...
- 4/7/2017
- ScreenDaily
Photo by Gianni Fiorito. © 2015 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation All Rights Reserved
From Paolo Sorrentino, the director of Italy’s Oscar foreign language winner The Great Beauty comes Youth, about two longtime friends vacationing in the Swiss Alps.
Oscar winning actor Michael Caine plays Fred, an acclaimed composer and conductor, who brings along his daughter (Rachel Weisz) and best friend Mick (Harvey Keitel), a renowned filmmaker.
While Mick scrambles to finish the screenplay for what he imagines will be his last important film, Fred has no intention of resuming his musical career. The two men reflect on their past, each finding that some of the most important experiences can come later in life.
Fox Searchlight has released an emotional new clip from the upcoming movie.
The film features an original score by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Lang, who first met Sorrentino when his composition “I Lie” was used in The Great Beauty.
From Paolo Sorrentino, the director of Italy’s Oscar foreign language winner The Great Beauty comes Youth, about two longtime friends vacationing in the Swiss Alps.
Oscar winning actor Michael Caine plays Fred, an acclaimed composer and conductor, who brings along his daughter (Rachel Weisz) and best friend Mick (Harvey Keitel), a renowned filmmaker.
While Mick scrambles to finish the screenplay for what he imagines will be his last important film, Fred has no intention of resuming his musical career. The two men reflect on their past, each finding that some of the most important experiences can come later in life.
Fox Searchlight has released an emotional new clip from the upcoming movie.
The film features an original score by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Lang, who first met Sorrentino when his composition “I Lie” was used in The Great Beauty.
- 11/18/2015
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Cannes — Awards season is no stranger to Cannes. From "Amour" to "The Tree of Life" to "No Country For Old Men" to "The Pianist" to "The Piano," every year there seems to be a player or two that pokes its head out from the crowded Croisette and into Oscar's waiting arms. This year's potential players may not include a true Best Picture contender, but they are evidence enough that the festival's presence will be felt throughout the upcoming campaign. Before you start second guessing which films have a shot and which don't, remember the actions of this year's Hollywood-influenced competition jury. The Coen brothers, Jake Gyllenhaal, Sienna Miller and the Guillermo Del Toro, among others, awarded some interesting prizes that will absolutely affect the race. The critical kudos are important, too (as are those of us who cover the beat on a regular basis and took in this year's slate...
- 5/25/2015
- by Gregory Ellwood
- Hitfix
Cannes — Italian filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino has already dipped his toe into the familiar genre of characters of a certain age reminiscing about the good old days with 2013's "The Great Beauty." He even won an Oscar for it. Two years later he returns to the Cannes Film Festival with "Youth," a follow-up that stands besides "Great Beauty" thematically while also presenting a decidedly different point of view. “Youth” starts off with The Retrosettes Sister Band performing a cover of “You Got the Love," interpreted in a retro style and a twist on the old adage “everything old is new again.” In this case, everything new is old again, a theme that may or may not apply to the central characters in Sorrentino’s cinematic opera. The movie centers on Fred Ballinger (Michael Caine), a legendary British composer and conductor, and Mick Boyle (Harvey Keitel), a famous American film director. Friends for 60 years,...
- 5/22/2015
- by Gregory Ellwood
- Hitfix
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