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Italian director Alessia Maria Federici’s comedy movie, titled Fantasy Football Ruined Our Lives, uses the medium of fantasy sports to explore the interpersonal dynamics of a group of friends who find themselves at the center of a police investigation following a bachelor party. If you are a sports aficionado, it will be easier to understand how crazy the antics of fans can be, which often blur the line between passion and obsession. And that extent of fanaticism, that too for a fantasy sport, often highlights concerning character traits—as is quite evident from the colorful bunch of mid-thirties dude-bros presented in the movie. The characters are written and acted...

Jasmine Trinca and Valeria Bruni Tedeschi (“Like Crazy”) are set to star in Paolo Strippoli’s high-concept Italian thriller “The Spiral” (“L’estranea”), which France’s Le Pacte has boarded for international sales.

Strippoli is Italy’s hottest young horror genre helmer, having made a splash with hit Netflix original “A Classic Horror Story,” which he co-directed with Roberto De Feo, followed by “Flowing” (“Piove”). His upcoming chiller “The Holy Boy” (“La Valle dei Sorrisi”) is tipped to bow at the upcoming Venice Film Festival.

Shooting is currently underway in Italy on “The Spiral” (see first-look image above), which also stars Romana Maggiora Vergano (“There’s Still Tomorrow”) and Adriano Giannini. The film is being lead-produced by Rome-based Propaganda in tandem with France’s Kazak Productions and Belgium’s Tarantula Film with support from Italy’s Rai Cinema. The planned delivery date is February 2026.

“The Spiral” centers on a mother-daughter relationship that...

Roughly a year after its launch, Italian state broadcaster Rai’s new sales unit for film is at Cannes with its first full-fledged slate headlined by surreal Western “Heads or Tails” starring John C. Reilly as Buffalo Bill during his stay in Italy that is launching in Un Certain Regard.

The Rai Cinema International Distribution slate also includes a new under-the-radar doc by prominent Russian documentary filmmaker Victor Kossakovsky, known for “Gunda” and “Aquarela.” Kossakovsky is now making another ecology-themed doc titled “Tears for Firs” in collaboration with Italian botanist Stefano Mancuso, a pioneer in the plant neurobiology movement who has written several best-selling books including “Tree Stories.” “It’s about the entire life cycle of trees and the correlation between plant life and the life of our planet,” said Rai Cinema chief Paolo Del Brocco.

“Tears for First” is being produced by Rome-based Be Water Film with Rai Cinema.

John C. Reilly stars as Buffalo Bill in the surreal westerns- and heroes-deconstructing parable Heads or Tails? (Testa o croce?), the new feature from Italian writers-directors Alessio Rigo de Righi and Matteo Zoppis (The Tale of King Crab), which world premieres in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section.

French-Finnish actress Nadia Tereszkiewicz (Red Island, The Crime Is Mine) and Italian actor Alessandro Borghi (Supersex, The Eight Mountains) lead the cast of the movie that dissects such themes as fame, myths, and storytelling.

The story, which the creator duo wrote with Carlo Salsa, begins with a documented 1890 Italy trip by frontiersman Buffalo Bill to bring his popular “Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show” to European audiences, and with it, the legend of U.S. frontier life.

At the show, Rosa (Tereszkiewicz), the young wife of a nobleman, falls in love with Santino (Borghi), an Italian cowboy, or buttero, who wins a contest...

This year’s Italian presence at Cannes – one entry in competition by veteran auteur Mario Martone and two by young directors that landed slots in Un Certain Regard – accurately reflects the current state of Cinema Italiano.

Broadly speaking, following a protracted growth spurt, there has been a slowdown in production activity caused by the fact that the government has been dithering with modifications on tax incentives for local film and TV productions, which has stalled the greenlight process, especially for bigger-budget Italian movies.

But even though getting films financed has gotten tougher, a new generation of directors is bubbling under, alongside well-known names such as Paolo Sorrentino, Luca Guadagnino, Alice Rohrwacher and Nanni Moretti.

“I have the impression that once again we are seeing young [Italian] directors emerging and this is formidable,” Thierry Fremaux noted while announcing the lineup. The Cannes boss went on to add that “Italy is historically a...

Rocco Siffredi, the retired global porn star whose life story inspired Netflix’s recent series “Supersex,” is to star in “Blue,” an Italian drama set in the erotic social media world.

Shooting is underway in Italy’s central Marche region on the film, which according to promotional materials revolves around a young female student named Luce contending with “tough choices” as she navigates the deceptive world of erotic websites and social media. The indie film is directed by first-timer Eleonora Puglia.

Italy’s PiperFilm is handling international sales and will release “Blue” in Italy.

Alongside Siffredi, the “Blue” cast also includes young Italian actresses Alexia Cozzi — who plays Luce — and Shaheen Barletta (“Prisma”). Siffredi plays Luce’s father.

“Blue” is a co-production between Italy’s Camaleo Film and Poland’s Agreswyna Banda, with support from the Marche Film Commission and Lazio Cinema International.

Siffredi, who has made roughly 1,400 hardcore films,...

Banijay Group, the listed company which comprises film and TV production, distribution, live entertainment and gaming, posted record results for 2024 which reached €4.8 billion (5.2 billion).

Banijay’s adjusted Ebitda was also up by 22% to €900 million ($971 million), and saw an acceleration in the last quarter with 32.8% spike, while adjusted net income also rose by 29.3% at current currencies to €418 million.

Banijay’s French-headquartered TV production and distribution division, which is behind hits including “Survivor” and “Peaky Blinders,” and the live entertainment division, posted flat results of €3.3 billion ($3.5 billion). Content production revenue in 2024 stood at €2.6 billion ($2.8 billion), down 2.8% compared to 2023. The last quarter of 2024 was up 6.2% thanks to major scripted show which were delivered at the end of the year.

In unveiling its results, Banijay said 2024 was a though year for the TV content industry as “major streaming platforms reduced their spending and prioritized their return to profitability, primarily impacting premium English scripted content.

Picture: Netflix

Created by Miguel Sáez Carral and Isa Sánchez, Raising Voices (or Ni una más as it was known in Spanish regions) told the story of 17-year-old Alma and her friends Greta and Nata who have their lives flipped upside down after discovering a sign outside their school proclaiming a rapist was within the school gates. All eight episodes dropped on Netflix globally on May 31st, 2024. Nicole Wallace, Clara Galle, Aïcha Villaverde, and Teresa de Mera were among the cast.

Following the end of Raising Voices, there had been some speculation of potential season 2 plans, but ultimately, most outlets landed on the series being a one-and-done situation. That said, Netflix uploaded the season with the “Season 1” label, as evidenced by the weekly top 10 reports for the series and on the tracker site NewonNetflix.info. Likewise, in checking all the pre-release materials for Raising Voices, there were no mentions of it being a limited series.

The teaser has been debuted for “The Captive,” the origin story of Miguel de Cervantes, the author of the novel “Don Quixote.” The historical epic is directed by Alejandro Amenábar, who won an Oscar for “The Sea Inside” and was BAFTA nominated for “The Others.” It will be released by Disney in Spain, while Film Constellation is selling other territories.

“The Captive” recently sold to France (Haut et Court), Greece and Cyprus (Filmtrade/Tanweer), Portugal (Nos Audiovisuais), Bulgaria (Pro Films), Former Yugoslavia (Discovery), and Cis (Russian World Vision), with buyers circling in North America.

The film, which shot last year on locations in Valencia, Alicante and Seville in Spain, is now in post-production. It has been dated for release in Spanish theaters on Oct. 17 with Disney.

“The Captive” centers on Cervantes when he was 28 years old as he is taken captive by the Moors in Algiers.

The film is set in 1575. Miguel de Cervantes,...

Film Constellation has revealed the first pre-sales on historical epic “The Captive” by director Alejandro Amenábar, who won an Oscar for “The Sea Inside” and was BAFTA nominated for “The Others.”

“The Captive” sold to France (Haut et Court), Greece and Cyprus (Filmtrade/Tanweer), Portugal (Nos Audiovisuais), Bulgaria (Pro Films), Former Yugoslavia (Discovery), and Cis (Russian World Vision), with buyers circling in North America.

The film, which shot last year on locations in Valencia, Alicante and Seville in Spain, is now in post-production. It has been dated for release in Spanish theaters on Oct. 17 with Disney. Film Constellation is unveiling the first promo for buyers during the European Film Market.

“The Captive” centers on the origin story of a young Miguel de Cervantes, the author of the novel “Don Quixote,” as he was taken captive at the age of 28 by the Moors in Algiers.

The film is set in 1575. Miguel de Cervantes,...

Haut Et Court will release “The Captive,” a new historical movie about the early life of Miguel de Cervantes, in French cinemas. The author of “Don Quixote” ‘s time in jail in North Africa is depicted in the film as a story.

Oscar-winning director Alejandro Amenábar is in charge of a $15 million project, working again with Haut Et Court after their collaboration on “While at War” in 2019.

The film takes place in Algiers in 1575, when Cervantes was 28 years old. It tells the story of the future writer as Ottoman pirates capture him and wait for Spain to send ransom money. When facing the possibility of death, Cervantes feels comforted by sharing stories with other prisoners. He forms a surprising friendship with Hasan, the leader of Algiers.

Spanish actor Julio Peña, famous for his roles in “Berlin” and “Through My Window,” plays a young Cervantes. Italian star Alessandro Borghi, known for “The Eight Mountains” and “Supersex,...

Next year promises to be a hot one for European productions, with everything from Netflix’s Italian period drama The Leopard to Max Turkey’s The First Göktürk drawing audiences to non-English-language fare. Throw in the second season of young adult crowd pleaser Maxton Hall: The World Between Us and Prime Video Italy’s Jesse Williams vehicle Costiera and it promises to be a bumper 2025. Read on for our selection, and add your own in the comments.

‘Whiskey On The Rocks’

Sweden

We’re starting our tour with Disney+’s first Nordic original series, given that it premieres in select countries and on Hulu in the U.S. on January 22. It began airing on SVT1 in Sweden over Christmas, but we’ll give it a pass given the worldwide launch is etched in for 2025. The political satire — from Patrick Nebout, Henrik Jansson-Schweizer and Magnus Bimberg’s Humanoids — revolves...

John C. Reilly will soon appear on the big screen as Buffalo Bill in “Heads or Tails?” a surreal Western by Italian directorial duo Alessio Rigo de Righi and Matteo Zoppis (“The Tale of King Crab”). The film is inspired by a true event that took place during Buffalo Bill’s stay in Italy.

Along with the Oscar-nominated U.S. actor – who co-starred with Joaquin Phoenix in Jacques Audiard’s Western “The Sisters Brothers” – the top notch “Heads or Tails?” cast also comprises rising French star Nadia Tereszkiewicz and Italy’s Alessandro Borghi, in lead roles, and Argentina’s Peter Lanzani.

Italian cowboys known as “butteri” –– and hailing from the central Italian plains of northern Lazio up through the coastal Italian region of Maremma into southern Tuscany — have a long-standing connection to Buffalo Bill and the history of America’s Wild West.

Buffalo Bill, born William F. Cody, was a...

Exclusive: Wild Bunch production house Bim Produzione is readying a TV series adaptation of Fumettibrutti (Uglycomic), a popular Italian graphic novel trilogy about the life of a young transgender woman.

The show won the Wiftmi Award today at Mia in Rome after Bim boss Riccardo Russo presented it in the drama category of the Co-Production Market and Pitching Forum this week. ‘Fumettibrutti’ is the professional name of cartoonist and activist Josephine Yole Signorelli.

The eight-episode first series will include live-action scenes and others animated in the style of the trilogy. It is planned to Yole’s life from her adolescence in Catania, Sicily, through to the publication of her first novel, when she had transitioned and was realizing an ambition to become a cartoonist. It will not follow a linear storyline, and will see the lead character reflecting on herself, her transition from a teenage boy named P. in devoutly...

If you thought 2023 was a good year for Netflix shows, 2024 just might have last year beat. The year has already provided new hits like Avatar: The Last Airbender, The Gentlemen, Baby Reindeer, and Emily in Paris, but there are plenty more highly anticipated shows on the horizon. New seasons of Outer Banks, Squid Game, The Diplomat, and more are still to come in 2024.

Although the Hollywood strikes left multiple Netflix shows delayed until 2025, the streamer has confirmed plenty more shows premiering or returning with new shows in 2024. Now that we're heading into the last few months of the year, we're starting to see some big hits coming back to our watch lists and splashy new shows making their debuts.

While fans will surely be anxiously awaiting Ginny & Georgia season 3, Wednesday season 2, The Watcher season 2, You season 5, and more, there's still so much to look forward to in 2024. For now,...

The Italian government will this week announce major changes to its film and TV tax credit system aimed at boosting local productions and producers and ensuring more Italian stories get told on screen. The changes come after a year of uncertainty that has left many productions in limbo.

Under the new rules, international co-productions will face an €18 million ($19.7 million) cap on tax credit payouts for projects where at least 30 percent of the production is made in Italy. Local productions will be capped at €9 million ($10 million). The overall fund for film and audiovisual investments in 2024 remains unchanged at approximately €700 million ($782 million).

The change is designed to boost Italian TV and movies and encourage visiting international productions to focus more on Italian stories, like Michael Mann’s Ferrari, about the life of the legendary car designer, starring Adam Driver and Penelope Cruz, which premiered at last year’s Venice Film Festival, or...

Netflix is putting toxic masculinity under the comedy microscope.

The streamer has ordered Maschi Veri, an eight-part comedy series from Italy in which four alpha male friends in their forties find themselves facing their own prejudices and the paradigms of toxic masculinity in a world that is moving towards social and gender equality. Without losing themselves, they are forced to rediscover their place in society and their relationships.

Maurizio Lastrico, Matteo Martari, Francesco Montanari and Pietro Sermonti star as the friends in the show, which is from Banijay’s Italian drama house Groenlandia. Furio Andreotti, Giulia Calenda and Ugo Ripamonti are the writers, with Groenlandia’s Matteo Rovere producing. Matteo Oleotto and Letizia Lamartire are directing.

Thony, Sarah Felberbaum, Laura Adriani, Alice Lupparelli, Corrado Fortuna and Nicole Grimaudo complete the cast. Show is slated for a 2025 launch.

For Netflix, the series is its latest out of Italy that explores contemporary masculinity.

Exclusive: Sky Studios and Groenlandia are readying feature film director Sydney Sibilia’s first TV drama series. Someone Killed Spiderman – Accidentally Famous (working title) is for Sky Italia and is about a non-conformist teenager who becomes on half of successful musical duo 883.

The show first came to attention last year, and the package has now come together with Sky Studios and Banijay-owned Groenlandia co-producing the show.

It will be set in 1980s Italy and follow frustrated teenager Max, who meets future musical partner Mauro and goes on to reach stardom. It is inspired by the story of how Italian pop band 883 was formed and the title is the same as duo’s iconic first album.

Sibilia is creating, writing and producing through his Banijay-owned production house, Groenlandia, which recently launched Netflix drama Supersex. This marks a first television venture for the film director, whose features include Can Quit Whenever I Want and Rose Island.

On March 6, 2024, Netflix launched “Supersex,” the true story of how Rocco Tano, a simple guy from Ortona, Italy, became Rocco Siffredi, the most famous porn star in the world. The Italian drama series written by Francesca Manieri stars Alessandro Borghi as Rocco and has received rave reviews from critics.

Holding fresh at 86% on Rotten Tomatoes, the scandalous series is a critically acclaimed hit with an equally impressive audience score. The ensemble cast includes Jasmine Trinca, Adriano Giannini, Enrico Borello and Vincenzo Nemolato. Read our full review round-up below.

See ‘The Gentlemen’ review round-up: Theo James leads cast of ‘colorful characters’ in Netflix crime drama

Meghan O’Keefe of Decider writes, “’Supersex’ manages to weave together smut and art in intoxicating measure. It could very well be the first foreign language show since ‘Squid Game’ to dominate Netflix’s other programming for weeks at a time. It’s also, thankfully, bringing back the kind of artsy,...

Supersex, which premiered on Netflix on March 6, tells the story of Rocco Siffredi, who came from the small coastal town of Ortona, Italy to become one of the most famous porn stars of all time. Born Rocco Tano in 1963, Siffredi has starred in more than 1,300 pornographic films since beginning his career in 1986 with the soft-core porn film Belle d’Amour.

Supersex, which was created by veteran Italian screenwriter Francesca Manieri and premiered at the Berlin Film Festival in February, chronicles Siffredi’s life, starting as a child whose world is upended with the death of his brother, only to discover the adult film industry, eventually becoming a global superstar whose first name becomes synonymous with pornography. The winner of 40 Adult Video News Awards (ofter referred to as the “Oscars of porn”), Siffredi, nicknamed the “Italian Stallion,” is portrayed in Supersex by Italian actor Alessandro Borghi, who described the Netflix series as,...

A steamy teaser for Netflix’s Supersex hit Instagram today with a cheeky one-word caption, “morning!” The clip — posted to promote the seven-episode Italian series inspired by the real life of porn icon Rocco Siffredi — features actor Alessandro Borghi as Siffredi, surrounded by a harem of at least four women.

The shirtless Borghi is focused on one woman as he kisses her, and then wraps his hands around her buttocks and grinds away in a highly suggestive manner. Well, some of Netflix’s Instagram followers found it to be a lot to swallow along with their morning coffee. The comments section quickly filled up with nearly 12,000 comments (and 286,695 likes) as of press time, with many questioning whether such a post was in violation of community guidelines.

The short answer: No. According to Instagram’s community guidelines, the platform encourages users to “respect everyone on Instagram, don’t spam people or post nudity.

Rocco Siffredi’s Thoughts on Netflix’s Supersex ( Photo Credit – Instagram )

When it comes to making shows inspired or based on real-life personalities, no one can beat Netflix. From documentaries to movies and web shows, the streaming platform has brought to life the stories of people who have inspired or shocked everyone with their actions and behaviour. The latest addition to their library is Supersex, an Italian adult drama series inspired by the life of adult star Rocco Siffredi.

The Netflix series was written by Francesca Manieri. Francesca directed the show with Francesca Mazzoleni and Matteo Rovere. The official Netflix synopsis reads, “Inspired by true events, this is the story of how Rocco Siffredi escaped a humble life and emerged as the world’s greatest adult movie star.”

Ever since Supersex was released, netizens haven’t stopped talking about it. The explicit content in it has baffled everyone. However, in an interview last year,...

Exclusive: It was on the set of Sky and HBO’s We Are Who We Are that Lorenzo Mieli asked Francesca Manieri, a screenwriter known for crafting stories about female empowerment, to pen a TV series about Rocco Siffredi, the infamous hardcore porn star. Initially, she could barely believe it. “I laughed,” she recalls. “I was sure he was joking.”

Only he wasn’t, and after a week of deliberation, she said yes, having realized it would give her the chance to explore “the core of contemporary masculinity.”

Manieri — known for films such as Rose Island, Italian Race, The First King and The Miracle and as co-writer of We Are Who We Are — went away and drew up her plan for a series that would allow her to “turn the tables” on the narratives men have dictated to women for, well, probably ever: a series about what porn represents and how modern masculinity is constructed.

Fremantle has appointed new bosses for its Italian production subsidiaries The Apartment and Wildside but will continue to work with outgoing CEOs Lorenzo Mieli and Mario Gianani.

Fremantle on Thursday announced that Annamaria Morelli will be taking over as CEO of The Apartment and Sonia Rovai as CEO of Wildside. Fremantle said both companies will continue to have editorial autonomy while coordinating with Fremantle on an organizational basis, and will continue to work with the same talents, Italian and international, going forward.

“Annamaria Morelli and Sonia Rovai have vision, experience and passion. I am so happy to welcome them to The Apartment and Wildside, two labels that have attracted some of the best talent, both Italian and international,” said Andrea Scrosati, group COO and CEO, continental Europe at Fremantle. “We are and will continue to be the place creatives want to call home. A place where you can express your...

Who says March Madness applies only to college basketball? This year, the networks and streaming services once again pull out the big guns as the end of the Emmys eligibility window approaches. Beyond Kate Winslet's return to HBO in The Regime, March brings a variety of big-budget adaptations and heady thrillers. If you're looking for something factual, Apple TV+ depicts the search for John Wilkes Booth in Manhunt and Hulu brings Holocaust drama We Were the Lucky Ones to the screen — or for something steamier, Netflix serves up Supersex, an Italian series about famed porn star Rocco Siffredi.

Porn icon Rocco Siffredi claims that after making roughly 1,400 hardcore films — with titles like “The Ass Collector” and “Rocco’s Perfect Slaves” — over the past four decades, he has finally found “the peace of his senses.”

“I could crack a bad joke and say I can’t get it up anymore,” says Siffredi, 59, speaking on a video call from the Budapest office of his Rocco Siffredi Production company, which houses the Siffredi Hard Academy, touted as the world’s first “university of porn.”

“But that’s not the case. Quite the contrary,” the hardworking “Italian Stallion” hastens to add. I’ve asked Siffredi about being — or having notoriously been — a sex addict. And the many times he’s announced his retirement as a porn performer, only to make another comeback.

“I have to tell you that it was a mix of problems connected with my personal life and the dependency that this job,...

Cost-cutting is believed to be behind the end of Berlinale Series this year and the festival has pivoted to inserting high-end TV shows across its programme. Yet top industry executives say endorsement from events such as Berlin and Cannes can have a “halo effect” for premium shows.

The Berlinale Series Market (February 19-21), now in its 10th year, remains in situ and EFM director Dennis Ruh calls it “an integral part” of the EFM with shows taking their place in most sales agents’ rosters.

At a time when many platforms are backing more mainstream drama series and network-style shows, Fremantle...

As the Berlinale Series Market celebrates its 10th anniversary, series continue to stand “side by side” with films at the German fest, observes EFM director Dennis Ruh.

“Bsm continues to be a beacon for all aspects of serialized content, even in years where space feels tighter with less films and series, giving selected titles more exposure,” he says, mentioning a “vibrant influx” of international professionals eager to showcase their shows.

Although the sidebar for series has been discontinued, they are present in Berlinale Special and Panorama sections. Apart from Netflix’s “Supersex” and “Dostoevskij” by Damiano and Fabio D’Innocenzo, Berlinale Series Market Selects will spotlight 15 new shows.

“We prioritize narratives that captivate with their originality, championing diversity in representation, genre and geography. The goal is to amplify these stories, ensuring they receive the global attention they deserve,” explains Ruh, pointing out another important trend: comedy. “This might be a reaction...

New seasons of “Bridgerton” and “The Night Agent” are coming to the world’s largest streamer in 2024, but what about “Stranger Things”?

Netflix takes its position as the leader of the streaming industry seriously. It frequently makes moves that no other streaming platform does, such as releasing viewership data for 99% of its shows, and this week it took another action few competing streaming services do: unveiling its entire TV, movie, and mobile game slate for the rest of 2024.

New seasons of “Bridgerton,” “Cobra Kai” and “Squid Game” will arrive on Netflix in 2024. Movie highlights include the new “Beverly Hills Cop” starring Eddie Murphy and Tyler Perry’s horror flick “Mea Culpa.” The schedule confirms there will be no new episodes of “Stranger Things” until at least 2025. Sign Up $6.99+ / month netflix.com

What Are the Highlights of Netflix’s TV Release Schedule in 2024?

What Are the Highlights of Netflix’s Movie...

It’s already been a busy 2024 for Netflix. Out is long time film chief Scott Stuber; in are live sports (sort of), a huge Sundance splash, and 18 Oscar nominations, the most of any individual studio. What does the next 11 months have in store? Answer: a hell of a lot.

Netflix on February 1 released a teaser video for its biggest properties arriving in 2024, including more than 50 new movies and 90 new and returning series. The highlight is “Squid Game 2,” the follow-up season to the South Korean dystopian smash hit that became Netflix’s biggest show of all time.

At the end of Netflix’s mega-tease, we see Seong Gi-hun (Lee Jung-jae) and his new bright-red hair walking through an airport when a mysterious voice on his phone tells him, “You’re going to regret the choice you made.”

“I’m going to find you, no matter what it takes,” he says in return.

Principal photography is set to begin in April on “The Captive” (“El Cautivo”), the period adventure epic from Alejandro Amenábar, whose “The Sea Inside” won an Oscar for best foreign language film. Film Constellation has boarded worldwide sales, and will introduce the project to buyers at the European Film Market.

The film centers on the origin story of Miguel de Cervantes, the author of the iconic novel “Don Quixote.” At the age of 28, Cervantes was taken captive by the Moors in Algiers, leading to his creative birth.

The $15 million production will shoot at locations in Spain including Valencia, Alicante and Seville.

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures is on board to release the film in Spain next year.

The film is set in Algiers in 1575 when Cervantes, a wounded 28-year-old Spanish Navy soldier, is held prisoner by Ottoman corsairs. Faced with a ticking clock, a cruel death awaits him should his...

The Berlinale has rounded out its special screenings programme with three more films.

Omar Sy-starring The Strangers’ Case by Brandt Andersen is a Berlinale Special Gala.

Two Japanese mid-length films - Chime by Kiyoshi Kurosawa and August My Heaven by Riho Kudo - will play as Berlinale Specials.

Andersen’s The Strangers’ Case is about a tragedy that strikes a Syrian family in Aleppo which triggers a chain reaction of events involving five different families in four different countries. The cast includes Omar Sy, Jason Beghe and Yasmine Al Massri.

It is based on a 2020 short, Refugee, that Andersen...

The Berlin Film Festival has unveiled a promising competition lineup for its upcoming edition, peppered with prestige star-driven titles such as the New York-set “La Cocina” with Rooney Mara, sci-fi drama “Another End” pairing Gael García Bernal and Renate Reinsve and its opening film “Small Things Like These” starring “Oppenheimer” protagonist Cillian Murphy.

As is customary, political elements play a prominent role. But the complete Berlinale roster revealed on Monday by artistic director Carlo Chatrian and executive director Mariëtte Rissenbeek – following previous announcements in past weeks – makes for the fest’s strongest selection in recent memory in terms of heft and ensures a rich red carpet following the Hollywood strikes hiatus.

Rissenbeek and Chatrain started the press conference with a statement on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. “Festivals provide a space for artistic expression and enable peaceful dialogue. They are places of encounter and exchange and contribute to international understanding.

Netflix has dropped a teaser trailer for “Supersex,” the series freely inspired by the real life of global porn star Rocco Siffredi, which will world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival and drop March 6 on the streamer.

“Every power is an enigma. It can give you light, or throw you into darkness. But every existence lived to its fullest always has a price to pay,” a voiceover says in the teaser as Siffredi is bombarded by fans and paparazzi.

The show looks at how “Rocco Tano — a simple guy from Ortona [a small town in central Italy] — became Rocco Siffredi, the most famous pornstar in the world,” according to its official synopsis.

The hotly anticipated series is created and written by prominent Italian screenwriter Francesca Manieri, who is known for her feminist works.

At the center of “Supersex” – which is produced by Lorenzo Mieli’s The Apartment, a Fremantle company, and Groenlandia, which is part of...

This year’s Berlinale Specials program, the out-of-competition gala section of the Berlin Film Festival, will include a pair of high-octane action movies: Rose Glass’ crime actioner Love Lies Bleeding starring Kristen Stewart, and Korean thriller The Roundup: Punishment from director Heo Myeong-haeng.

Love Lies Bleeding, which co-stars Anna Baryshnikov, Dave Franco, Katy M. O’Brian, Ed Harris and Jena Malone, will have its international premiere in Berlin after its bow in Sundance later this month. The Roundup: Punishment, starring Train to Busan breakout Don Lee, will have its world premiere in Berlin.

Other Berlinale Special highlights, unveiled Monday, include Shikun, the latest drama from Israeli filmmaker Amos Gitai (Kadosh); the documentary project Turn in the Wound, from acclaimed New York auteur Abel Ferrara (Bad Lieutenant), about life in Kyiv since the start of the war in Ukraine; and Supersex, an Italian Netflix drama based on the life of notorious porn star Rocco Siffredi,...

“Love Lies Bleeding” starring Kristen Stewart and Netflix’s “Supersex” series have been added to Berlin Film Festival’s Special lineup.

A romantic thriller centered on a bodybuilder and gym manager, “Love Lies Bleeding” is directed by “Saint Maud” helmer Rose Glass and will have its world premiere at Sundance this month. “Love Lies Bleeding” also stars Katy O’Brian, Ed Harris, Jena Malone, Anna Baryshnikov and Dave Franco.

“Supersex,” based on the life of porn star Rocco Siffredi, is created and written by Francesca Manieri. The series, which premieres on Netflix March 6, will look at how “Rocco Tano — a simple guy from Ortona [a small town in central Italy] — became Rocco Siffredi, the most famous pornstar in the world.”

Another standout is “Made in England: The Films of Powell and Pressburger,” a documentary by David Hinton that features rare archival material from the filmmakers and is narrated by Martin Scorsese.

Other additions include Nicolas Philibert’s...

Netflix has dropped its first key art and several new images for Supersex, the hotly anticipated biographical series on Italian porn star Rocco Siffredi.

Alessandro Borghi, star of Netflix’s mafia drama series Suburra and 2022 Cannes jury prize winner The Eight Mountains, plays Rocco in the fictionalized take on the porn actor’s life. The seven-episode series — created and written by Francesca Manieri, Lorenzo Mieli for Fremantle-owned The Apartment and Matteo Rovere for Banijay’s Groenlandia — will bow on Netflix worldwide March 6, 2024. Rovere, Francesco Carrozzini and Francesca Mazzoleni are directing.

Netflix has said the series is “freely inspired” by Siffredi’s life and career, as well as from direct testimony from Siffredi. Supersex plans to tell the soup-to-nuts story of Rocco from his childhood and family origins through his “relationship with love” that led him to pursue a career in porn.

Jasmine Trinca plays Lucia, a fictional female character who...

Netflix has set a March 6 premiere date for “Supersex,” the series freely inspired by the real life of global porn star Rocco Siffredi, who has more than 1,500 hardcore films to his name.

The series is created and written by prominent Italian screenwriter Francesca Manieri who is known to be a militant feminist. It is described in promotional materials as a profound story that runs through Siffredi’s life since childhood and looks at his family, “his relationship with love” and how “Rocco Tano — a simple guy from Ortona [a small town in central Italy] — became Rocco Siffredi, the most famous pornstar in the world.”

“Supersex” directors are Matteo Rovere (“Romulus”), Francesco Carrozzini (“The Hanging Sun”) and Francesca Mazzoleni (“Punta Sacra”).

At the center of “Supersex” – which is being produced by Lorenzo Mieli’s The Apartment, a Fremantle company, and Groenlandia, which is part of the Banijay group – are unknown aspects of the Italian porn star, who...

Speaking at a panel held at the Mia Market in Rome, Netflix execs laid out a European strategy based on cultural and regional specificity alongside wider international format exchange.

“We want to create stories that are really rooted in our country’s culture and tradition,” said Italian content VP Eleonora Andreatta. “[And in order] to be authentic, that means recognizing the differences between one part of the country to the other.”

While Netflix’s recently wrapped adaptation of “The Leopard” is steeped in Sicilian history, the Matilda De Angelis-led returning series “The Law According to Lidia Poët” finds female emancipation in 19th century Turin. And if both titles look backward, both also share an impetus to shade Italian history in a more modern light.

Per Andreatta, Italian cinema’s glorious dolce vita boom had also left a bitter aftertaste by way of cultural stereotypes that lingered for years. Andreatta and her Rome-based...

Spend on Italian TV and film productions shot upwards by 28% to €1.8B ($1.9B) last year, the latest report into the country’s sector revealed today.

Closing the Mia Market, the likes of Audiovisual Producers Association (APA)/Cinecittà President Chiara Sbarigia, Netflix Italy boss Tinny Andreatta and Ministry of Culture Undersecretary Lucia Borgonzoni presented the APA research, which took in Italian TV and film investment in the 2022 calendar year and is the fifth of its kind.

The report showed that the total value of investments in original Italian productions across genre was €1.8B, up from around €1.4B, with more than half of this figure made up by spend on linear platforms such as national pubcaster Rai.

Sbarigia pointed out that the “steady growth” of online spend is now worth almost a third of overall TV spend, while there has been “significant boost in documentaries and animation, mainly in the VoD segment...

Execs took part in Netflix showcase panel at Mia Market in Rome.

Netflix VP content for Italy Eleonora ‘Tinny’ Andreatta says she is looking for content that goes beyond the stereotypes about the country that were formed by the success of Italian cinema in the 1960s.

“The biggest challenge we have nowadays is to overcome the big success that Italy had in the 1960s that created some stereotypes about our country. It was so huge,” Andreatta said on a panel at Mia Market in Rome.

“Now the ambition is to relaunch a more modern, more acutal, more true, more out of stereotype image of Italy.

Exec says she is after ‘modern’ and ‘out of stereotype’ content about Italy.

Netflix VP content for Italy Eleonora ‘Tinny’ Andreatta says she is looking for content that goes beyond the stereotypes about the country that were formed by the success of Italian cinema in the 1960s.

“The biggest challenge we have nowadays is to overcome the big success that Italy had in the 1960s that created some stereotypes about our country. It was so huge,” Andreatta said on a panel at Mia Market in Rome.

“Now the ambition is to relaunch a more modern, more acutal, more true, more...

Netflix on Tuesday unveiled four new Italian originals – two feature films and two series – that confirm its continued investment in Italy as local subscribers grow. The new projects also bolster the fact that the bulk of the streamer’s Italian productions are not high end and have a primarily local focus.

During a Rome presentation Eleonora Andreatta – affectionately known as Tinny – who is Netflix’s VP of Italian originals, said that Netflix remains “committed to our investment in Italy and Italian stories with conviction, continuing our long-term commitment to the country and its creative community.”

Andreatta, who owing to having caught Covid-19 was speaking remotely to the packed room, described Netflix’s lineup as being characterised by “Authentic stories, able to speak to the present [and] about the present and [which can] emotionally touch the audience on issues closest to the lives they live.”

According to data released last month by Italy’s...

Exclusive: Prime Video Italy has ordered a six-part comedy-drama in the “tone in the director of Fleabag” from Italian producer Groenlandia.

We can reveal Banijay Group-owned drama house Groenlandia and Fidelio are making Antonia, in collaboration with Prime Video. The series will form part of the streamer’s latest slate, which is due to be unveiled today in Rome. Each episode will be a half-hour.

Chiara Martegiani (Ride) stars in the title role. Valerio Mastandrea is providing creative supervision and also stars alongside Barbara Chichiarelli, Emanuele Linfatti, Leonardo Lidi and Anna Chiara Caselli. Elisa Casseri, Carlotta Corradi and Chiara Martegiani are the writers. Chiara Malta is directing.

Antonia will take an ironic, comedic tone and will follow the titular character, an actress who can’t help but clash with others. Having left her family as a teenager, she lives in Rome, which she sees...