When you think about Italian crime films, the chances are that you have something very specific in mind. As he told my colleague Paul Risker, director Alessandro Celli wanted to get beyond that and do something different when he made Mondocane. The name comes from the film’s young hero, played by Dennis Protopapa, a homeless teen who, along with best friend Pisciasotto (Giuliano Soprano) lives in a shipwrecked boat in a quarantine zone which has biohazard signs all over it. They’re watched over by an old man who sexually exploits them but at least makes sure they’re fed and relatively safe from other forms of violence. Having reached adolescence in reasonable health (Pisciasotto is epileptic) and without becoming addicts, they’re doing better than most of their peers, but that’s about to change.
The reason for the change is...
The reason for the change is...
- 6/5/2022
- by Jennie Kermode
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
“It’s been the great mystery in political history of the past 50 years,” said Slamdance Film Festival founder, writer and director Dan Mirvish of the eighteen-and-a-half minutes famously missing from the Nixon Tapes. His campy political thriller out this weekend takes a stab at what might have happened.
Adventure Entertainment opens 18 1/2 today on four screens in NY, LA, and Fort Lauderdale, expanding next week to about 60 including a special screening Wednesday at the Landmark Theatres E Street Cinema in Washington, D.C. to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Watergate. The National Archives is screening CNN documentary series Watergate: Blueprint for a Scandal the same night at a dueling event with John Dean, who was President Richard Nixon’s counsel from July, 1970 to April, 1973. The mother of U.S. political scandals exploded in June of 1972 when five men broke into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate hotel and office complex.
Adventure Entertainment opens 18 1/2 today on four screens in NY, LA, and Fort Lauderdale, expanding next week to about 60 including a special screening Wednesday at the Landmark Theatres E Street Cinema in Washington, D.C. to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Watergate. The National Archives is screening CNN documentary series Watergate: Blueprint for a Scandal the same night at a dueling event with John Dean, who was President Richard Nixon’s counsel from July, 1970 to April, 1973. The mother of U.S. political scandals exploded in June of 1972 when five men broke into the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate hotel and office complex.
- 5/27/2022
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
Jonas Carpignano’s third feature film, “A Chiara,” the third film in his loosely networked Calabrian trilogy, is an ambitious genre-melter rendered in his observational, lyrical style.
At once a coming-of-age story and a mafia thriller, “A Chiara” takes a look at organized crime in Southern Italy from the unique perspective of a teenage girl, Chiara (Swamy Rotolo). Her world is turned upside down after her father disappears and she tumbles down the rabbit hole after him, discovering he’s a member of the ‘Ndrangheta crime syndicate.
Carpignano’s previous two films in the trilogy are 2015’s “Mediterranea,” which followed the experiences of African immigrants in Calabria, and 2017’s “A Ciambra,” executive produced by Martin Scorsese, about a Romani boy growing up too fast. All three films in the trilogy debuted at the Cannes Film Festival and have raked in a slew of awards and nominations for the filmmaker, including...
At once a coming-of-age story and a mafia thriller, “A Chiara” takes a look at organized crime in Southern Italy from the unique perspective of a teenage girl, Chiara (Swamy Rotolo). Her world is turned upside down after her father disappears and she tumbles down the rabbit hole after him, discovering he’s a member of the ‘Ndrangheta crime syndicate.
Carpignano’s previous two films in the trilogy are 2015’s “Mediterranea,” which followed the experiences of African immigrants in Calabria, and 2017’s “A Ciambra,” executive produced by Martin Scorsese, about a Romani boy growing up too fast. All three films in the trilogy debuted at the Cannes Film Festival and have raked in a slew of awards and nominations for the filmmaker, including...
- 5/26/2022
- by Katie Walsh
- The Wrap
Mondocane Photo: courtesy of Kino Lorber
Italian director Alessandro Celli's début feature Mondocane transforms the Taranto landscape of southern Italy into a dystopian vision. Trapped in this space, his two young protagonists, Pietro (Dennis Protopapa), known as Mondocane, and Cristian (Giulano Soprano), known by the name Pisciasotto, dream of escaping the toxic wasteland. When the two best friends are recruited by Testacalda, a.k.a Hothead (Alessandro Borghi), leader of a local gang called the Ants, their bond is tested.
Mondocane
In conversation with Eye For Film, Celli discussed his ambition to diversify from Italian crime traditions, and the uncertainty around the response the film will provoke.
Paul Risker: Why filmmaking as a means of creative expression? Was there an inspirational or defining moment for you?
Alessandro Celli: It was very early on, growing up in Rome with a Canadian father. I'd go to the one theatre in...
Italian director Alessandro Celli's début feature Mondocane transforms the Taranto landscape of southern Italy into a dystopian vision. Trapped in this space, his two young protagonists, Pietro (Dennis Protopapa), known as Mondocane, and Cristian (Giulano Soprano), known by the name Pisciasotto, dream of escaping the toxic wasteland. When the two best friends are recruited by Testacalda, a.k.a Hothead (Alessandro Borghi), leader of a local gang called the Ants, their bond is tested.
Mondocane
In conversation with Eye For Film, Celli discussed his ambition to diversify from Italian crime traditions, and the uncertainty around the response the film will provoke.
Paul Risker: Why filmmaking as a means of creative expression? Was there an inspirational or defining moment for you?
Alessandro Celli: It was very early on, growing up in Rome with a Canadian father. I'd go to the one theatre in...
- 5/22/2022
- by Paul Risker
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
The year is sometime in the near future, apparently, and society has collapsed for vague reasons. Well, some of it has. Some of it hasn’t. Or maybe it only has if you squint really hard.
The Italian post-apocalyptic coming-of-age crime drama “Mondocane” is big on attitude but very short on details, presenting a world of violent gangs and oppressive police against a backdrop that’s so similar to what’s going on today, and so unexplored in all its sci-fi trappings, that one can’t help but wonder why it’s set in the future at all.
Dennis Protopapa, in his feature film debut, plays the title character, Pietro, who quickly earns the name “Dogworld” after he torches a pet shop to earn his place in a gang called “The Ants.” He’s grown up by the seashore with his best friend Cristian, and if you thought “Dogworld” was an unfortunate nom de guerre,...
The Italian post-apocalyptic coming-of-age crime drama “Mondocane” is big on attitude but very short on details, presenting a world of violent gangs and oppressive police against a backdrop that’s so similar to what’s going on today, and so unexplored in all its sci-fi trappings, that one can’t help but wonder why it’s set in the future at all.
Dennis Protopapa, in his feature film debut, plays the title character, Pietro, who quickly earns the name “Dogworld” after he torches a pet shop to earn his place in a gang called “The Ants.” He’s grown up by the seashore with his best friend Cristian, and if you thought “Dogworld” was an unfortunate nom de guerre,...
- 5/21/2022
- by William Bibbiani
- The Wrap
“I have very little to say except that I think it very charming and kind of you all to give us your Sunday night,” said a disarming Julian Fellowes at the NYC premiere of Downton Abbey: A New Era last Sunday. Distributor Focus Features – and the broader industry — hopes audiences will give the film many more Sunday nights, and other days and dayparts, jumpstarting the return to theaters of older demos.
Downton opens this weekend on over 3,800 screens, not a specialty release but leading here as a bellwether for that elusive audience, a staple of arthouses, that had raised hopes briefly by turning out for No Die To Die last fall. Lingering Covid jitters or an entrenched streaming habit have kept the 45-plus crowd sparse in cinemas even as they flock to restaurants and other public activities. The hope is that the Downton franchise will prove beloved as Bond, as enduring as Spider-Man,...
Downton opens this weekend on over 3,800 screens, not a specialty release but leading here as a bellwether for that elusive audience, a staple of arthouses, that had raised hopes briefly by turning out for No Die To Die last fall. Lingering Covid jitters or an entrenched streaming habit have kept the 45-plus crowd sparse in cinemas even as they flock to restaurants and other public activities. The hope is that the Downton franchise will prove beloved as Bond, as enduring as Spider-Man,...
- 5/20/2022
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
Sometimes it can be a little sad to watch a director blatantly make a bid for mainstream American acceptance (or rather future Marvel gig), and in the case of Mondocane (Italian for Dogworld) this couldn’t be more apparent. What seemed an exciting prospect, a potential throwback to trashy Italian post-apocalyptic films (or just a bleak arthouse sci-fi), Alessandro Celli’s feature debut rather feels like minor adjustments to an ’80s Amblin fantasy film above all––a few more blatant references to child molestation notwithstanding. Though perhaps having children as the protagonists should’ve been the tip-off to what flavor of sci-fi adventure we’d be getting, one still replete with sleek nighttime motorcycle chases and gunfire to feel just “modern” or “adult” enough.
A brief title crawl informs us the Italian town of Taranto is now a wasteland devastated by climate change, a power plant blotting the skyline and barbed wire guarding the borders.
A brief title crawl informs us the Italian town of Taranto is now a wasteland devastated by climate change, a power plant blotting the skyline and barbed wire guarding the borders.
- 5/19/2022
- by Ethan Vestby
- The Film Stage
The stakes at the center of “Mondocane” aren’t without importance or tragedy: two boys search in the rubble of civilization for wealth, safety, and friendship. Owing to the lineage began by “Lord of the Flies,” this dreary and distant tale, backgrounded by glittering seas and abandoned buildings, should follow in the footsteps of Kim Nguyen’s harrowing film “War Witch” or Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire’s shocking “Johnny Mad Dog” — two movies about wayward children navigating harsh environments rendered harsher due to their age. But
In his narrative debut feature, Celli and co-writer Antonio Leotti have clearly taken all of the notes: The messianic leader who’s far less virtuous than he appears to be is there, as are the common initiations requiring children to lose their humanity and innocence to harden them. There’s even the girl who comes between two friends. Those familiar pieces, however, are shaken up and jumbled,...
In his narrative debut feature, Celli and co-writer Antonio Leotti have clearly taken all of the notes: The messianic leader who’s far less virtuous than he appears to be is there, as are the common initiations requiring children to lose their humanity and innocence to harden them. There’s even the girl who comes between two friends. Those familiar pieces, however, are shaken up and jumbled,...
- 5/19/2022
- by Robert Daniels
- Indiewire
Exclusive: Wolfe Releasing has acquired North American rights to the Italian Lgbtqia+ dramedy Blessed Boys (La Santa Piccola) from Minerva Pictures, ahead of its June 11 North American premiere at the Tribeca Festival, with plans to release it in theaters and on digital in the fall.
Writer-director Silvia Brunelli’s first feature centers on Mario (Vincenzo Antonucci) and Lino (Francesco Pellegrino), who two 18-year-old friends born and raised in the Sanitá quarter in Naples who never have stepped out of their small town. They lead a simple life, until Lino’s little sister, Annaluce (Sofia Guastaferro), convinces the locals that she has performed a miracle and they begin worshipping her as a living saint. The fate of her family abruptly changes: Mario realizes that he is in love with Lino, who does not notice it, and tries to find a way out from his routine life.
Blessed Boys made its world...
Writer-director Silvia Brunelli’s first feature centers on Mario (Vincenzo Antonucci) and Lino (Francesco Pellegrino), who two 18-year-old friends born and raised in the Sanitá quarter in Naples who never have stepped out of their small town. They lead a simple life, until Lino’s little sister, Annaluce (Sofia Guastaferro), convinces the locals that she has performed a miracle and they begin worshipping her as a living saint. The fate of her family abruptly changes: Mario realizes that he is in love with Lino, who does not notice it, and tries to find a way out from his routine life.
Blessed Boys made its world...
- 5/5/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
The Tale Of King Crab, a cinematically striking fable shot in rural Italy and Argentina, opened to a three-day gross of 5,120 at Film at Lincoln Center this weekend — the first in a string of Italian offerings set to arrive on the specialty scene through the summer.
“In today’s challenging arthouse market, we count this early result as a success and believe the film will continue to find a devoted audience as it rolls out nationally,” said Andrew Carlin, head of distribution for Oscilloscope Laboratories, which presents the film directed by Alessio Rigo de Righi and Matteo Zoppis. Set in a remote 19th-century Italian village and the distant Argentine province of Tierra del Fuego, it expands to LA’s Landmark Nuart on April 29 and into top 50 markets throughout May.
“We saw this at Cannes last year on the biggest and best screen possible and found it equal parts beguiling and immersive.
“In today’s challenging arthouse market, we count this early result as a success and believe the film will continue to find a devoted audience as it rolls out nationally,” said Andrew Carlin, head of distribution for Oscilloscope Laboratories, which presents the film directed by Alessio Rigo de Righi and Matteo Zoppis. Set in a remote 19th-century Italian village and the distant Argentine province of Tierra del Fuego, it expands to LA’s Landmark Nuart on April 29 and into top 50 markets throughout May.
“We saw this at Cannes last year on the biggest and best screen possible and found it equal parts beguiling and immersive.
- 4/17/2022
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
"We weren't meant to be here. We're Ants or have you forgotten?" Kino Lorber has revealed an official US trailer for a film from Italy titled Mondocane, which premiered at Critics Week at the Venice Film Festival last year. The title translates to Dogworld in English, describing this "proto-cyberpunk" post-apocalyptic film set in a city called Taranto. In the near future, Taranto is a ghost town surrounded by barbed wire that no one, not even the police, dares to enter. The poorest are left fighting for survival, while gangs compete for territory. Two 13-year-old orphans, who grew up together, dream of joining one of the gangs. "Recalling everything from Mad Max to Lord of the Flies to City of God, director Alessandro Celli's thrilling feature debut is a stylish post-apocalyptic vision and an inspiring testament to the power of friendship in an unjust world." This stars Dennis Protopapa, Giuliano Soprano,...
- 4/15/2022
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Kino Lorber presents the thrilling dystopian vision Mondocane, the debut feature of Italian writer/director Alessandro Celli.
The film opens on Friday, May 20 in New York (Angelika Film Center) and Los Angeles (Landmark Westwood) before expanding theatrically nationwide.
Synopsis:
In the not-too-distant future on Italy’s southern coast, the city of Taranto has become a toxic wasteland ruled by warring gangs and surrounded by barbed wire, where best friends Pietro and Cristian dream of escaping their hardscrabble existence for a better life in nearby New Taranto.
Opportunity knocks when Hothead, the charismatic and dangerous leader of a local gang called the Ants, recruits the two boys and gives them everything they fantasized about: money in their pockets, a fami...
The film opens on Friday, May 20 in New York (Angelika Film Center) and Los Angeles (Landmark Westwood) before expanding theatrically nationwide.
Synopsis:
In the not-too-distant future on Italy’s southern coast, the city of Taranto has become a toxic wasteland ruled by warring gangs and surrounded by barbed wire, where best friends Pietro and Cristian dream of escaping their hardscrabble existence for a better life in nearby New Taranto.
Opportunity knocks when Hothead, the charismatic and dangerous leader of a local gang called the Ants, recruits the two boys and gives them everything they fantasized about: money in their pockets, a fami...
- 4/13/2022
- QuietEarth.us
The programme for the 2021 Venice Film Festival has been unveiled, and includes new films from Pedro Almodóvar, Jane Campion, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Michelangelo Frammartino, Pablo Larraín, Paul Schrader, Ridley Scott, and more.Parallel MothersCOMPETITIONParallel Mothers (Pedro Almodóvar)Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon (Ana Lily Amirpour)Un Autre Monde (Stephane Brize)The Power of the Dog (Jane Campion)America LatinaL’Evenement (Audrey Diwan)Official CompetitionThe Hole (Michelangelo Frammartino)Sundown (Michel Franco)Lost Illusions (Xavier Giannoli)The Lost Daughter (Maggie Gyllenhaal)Spencer (Pablo Larrain)Freaks Out (Gabriele Mainetti)Qui Rido Io (Mario Martone)On The Job: The Missing 8 (Erik Matti)Leave No Traces (Jan P. Matuszyński)Captain Volkonogov EscapedThe Card Counter (Paul Schrader)The Hand of God (Paolo Sorrentino)Reflection (Valentyn Vasyanovych)The Box (Lorenzo Vigas)Out Of COMPETITIONFeaturesDune (Denis Villeneuve)Il Bambino Nascosto (Roberto Andò)Les Choses Humaines (Yvan Attal)Ariaferma (Leonardo Di Costanzo)Halloween Kills (David Gordon Green...
- 8/3/2021
- MUBI
Italy’s Minerva Pictures — the company specialized in genre fare such as teen chiller “Shortcut” that recently made a U.S. splash — is launching world sales at AFM on “Mondocane,” a dystopian drama about the struggle of two 13-year-old orphan boys in a Southern Italian gangland.
“Mondocane” toplines Alessandro Borghi (“Devils”).
In “Mondocane,” Borghi (pictured) plays the leader of one of two gangs vying for control of the Southern Italian port city of Taranto which in a dystopian near-future that has become a no man’s land surrounded by barbed wire and abandoned by police. The film is being marketed as an “Oliver Twist tale in a ‘Mad Max’ setting,” Minerva Pictures international sales chief Francesca Delise told Variety.
Delise noted that for Minerva, “Mondocane” segues from the international success it saw with Alessio Liguori’s “Shortcut,” which despite the pandemic recently went out theatrically on almost 700 U.S. screens via Gravitas Ventures.
“Mondocane” toplines Alessandro Borghi (“Devils”).
In “Mondocane,” Borghi (pictured) plays the leader of one of two gangs vying for control of the Southern Italian port city of Taranto which in a dystopian near-future that has become a no man’s land surrounded by barbed wire and abandoned by police. The film is being marketed as an “Oliver Twist tale in a ‘Mad Max’ setting,” Minerva Pictures international sales chief Francesca Delise told Variety.
Delise noted that for Minerva, “Mondocane” segues from the international success it saw with Alessio Liguori’s “Shortcut,” which despite the pandemic recently went out theatrically on almost 700 U.S. screens via Gravitas Ventures.
- 11/9/2020
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
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