RAI Cinema International Distribution heads to the Cannes market with a promising lineup of new releases from renowned Italian directors and Cannes and Venice enthusiasts, including Gianni Amelio, Mario Martone, Daniele Vicari and Berlin-based Russian director Viktor Kosakovsky.
Best known for the Oscar-nominated Open Doors (1990) and the 1992 Cannes Grand Prix winner The Stolen Children, he recently starred in the 2024 drama The Stolen Children, which closed in Venice. Amelio, who directed “Torground,” is currently taking up the post on “No Pain,” which is headed by Valeria Golino and Alessandro Borghi (The Eight Mountains) (see first look image above). In No Pain, made for Venice, Borghi plays a quiet man named David, devastated by a tragic event for which he is unwittingly responsible. He finds peace of mind through an emotional bond with a woman named Elsa, played by Golino.
Director Martone, who came to Cannes with “Fuori” last year, is putting the final touches on “Trick,” a drama set in Naples starring Toni Servillo (“The Magnificent Beauty”), which is also likely to start at Lido.
Director Vicari, who visited Venice last year after making “Tired of Killing: The Autobiography of an Assassin,” has completed “Bianco,” in which Borghi plays the legendary Italian mountaineer’s tragic attempt to climb Mont Blanc in 1961.
Kosakowski, the Oscar-nominated director known for “Gunda,” “Aquarella,” and “Trillion,” has teamed up with Italian botanist Stefano Mancuso, a pioneer in the plant neurobiology movement and author of several best-selling books, including “Tree Stories,” to create the new ecology-themed documentary “Green World.” The work has been described as “an invitation to fundamentally rethink the plant world from new and groundbreaking perspectives.”
By: Be Water Film
Almost two years after its launch, the sales arm of Italian national broadcaster RAI is coming to Cannes. This time, a strong slate will be presented to buyers with a promo reel released during two private screenings during the Cannes Marché du Film.
Variety speaks with Fulvio Filito, head of international sales at RAI Cinema, about the growing Italian sales company’s raison d’être, its mission, and its hopes for a breakthrough in Cannes.
What is the significance of RAI Cinema International Distribution’s existence and how do you plan to grow the company in the future?
Our mission, simply put, is to bring more attention to Italian films abroad. RAI Cinema contributes to the production of around 60 Italian films a year. We can handle about 10 of those sales, maybe a few more. In addition, ahead of the recent Berlin Film Festival, we picked up Belgian director Manon Kubia’s “Forest High,” which won an award for world distribution. As we establish ourselves in the market, we also want to add foreign films to our lineup. This will increase visibility abroad and allow Italian films to enter more sales slots.
What happened?
Well, we were able to sell Margherita Vicario’s musical comedy “Gloria”! (2024) in more than 80 regions. We also sold Trudy Styler’s documentary “Posso Entrare? An Ode to Naples” to Hulu in the US. This was a first for the Italian distributor, which sold to 70 territories in addition to Disney Plus in the UK. We also sold Gianni Amelio’s last completed film, Battlegrounds (2024), to more than 20 territories. The work is therefore constant, but we are confident that we can achieve good results despite a very competitive market.
Although “Gloria” is her first novel, Amelio is a veteran writer. Is this combination typical of your lineup?
Outstanding first and second titles are part of our mission. A great example is Irene Dionisio’s “Idda.” But there are others.
Below are other notable fresh titles scheduled for RAI Cinema international distribution.
– Irene Dionisio’s second full-length novel, “Idda.” His debut film, “Pawn Streets,” started at the Venice Critics’ Week. Starring Italy’s rising female stars Tecla Insoria (The Art of Joy) and Romana Maggiola Vergano (There’s Still Tomorrow), the film tells the story of two childhood friends, now in their 30s, who discover something while hiking Mount Etna in Sicily.
– “The Sound of Something New,” a new album by Paolo Genovese (“Perfect Strangers”). The latest concept comedy, “Madly,” raked in $21 million domestically and was widely distributed through RAI Cinema International. “Six lives intersect in the chaotic daily life of Milan. Each person is looking for something to follow, their own ‘perfect noise’, rather than surrendering to emotional paralysis,” the synopsis reads.
– “Things We Don’t Say” is the latest feature from Gabriele Muccino, whose Hollywood credits include “The Pursuit of Happyness,” starring Will Smith. The film is based on the novel “Syracuse” by Delia Ephron. The film follows two couples who vacation in Morocco and become embroiled in betrayals of various kinds. It grossed over $8 million locally.
–– The documentary “Le Angelesse” by Roberta Torre (“Tano to Die For”) is a documentary about female inmates in a Milanese prison who prepare to perform Christmas carols inside the prison, and provides some behind-the-scenes stories about why they are there.
