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Ginevra Elkann with Alba Rohrwacher at the Museum of Modern Art premiere of Magari (If Only) Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

At the Istituto Luce Cinecittà opening night reception for The Wonders: Alice and Alba Rohrwacher at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, while Julian Schnabel circulated through the crowd and Sony Pictures Classics Michael Barker and Rome Film Festival Artistic Director and Le Conversazioni founder Antonio Monda held court, Ginevra Elkann, the director of Magari (If Only) joined me for a conversation on her debut feature film, co-written with Chiara Barzini.

Riccardo Scamarcio as Carlo with Alba Rohrwacher as Benedetta in Magari (If Only)

Magari, shot by Vladan Radovic, stars Oro De Commarque, Alba Rohrwacher, Céline Sallette, Brett Gelman, and Riccardo Scamarcio with Ettore Giustiniani, Milo Roussel, and Benjamin Baroche. After viewing If Only, I thought of my Babsi, Isabella Rossellini’s Nando, and Thom Browne’s Hector with Andrew Bolton,...

Variety has been given exclusive access to the trailer for Ginevra Elkann’s “Magari” (“If Only”), which world premieres as the opening film at the Locarno Film Festival.

The film, described as a “sentimental comedy,” tells the story of three siblings, Alma, Jean and Sebastiano, who live in Paris, in the safe, albeit bizarre, bourgeois world of their Russian-Orthodox mother. One day they are suddenly sent off into the arms of their absent, unconventional and completely broke Italian father Carlo (played by Riccardo Scamarcio), who has no idea how to look after himself, let alone his kids.

During a Christmas holiday spent at a beach house with Carlo and his writing partner Benedetta (played by Alba Rohrwacher), family tensions bubble to the surface. Carlo uncovers a dark side to his former wife and proves to his children that he is indeed an unreliable father, but also an incredibly charismatic one.