Edoardo De Angelis’s Comandante starring Pierfrancesco Favino, featured in the sestina of Italian films in competition at the Venice International Film Festival from August 30 to September 9, 2023, is the new opening film from the kermesse. A “promotion” that filled the void of Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers starring Zendaya and Josh O’Connor, a film previously announced but which, due to the Hollywood actors’ strike, will see its release postponed.
The commander, mentioned in the title, is Salvatore Todaro, who in command of the Royal Navy’s submarine Cappellini during World War II saved the lives of sailors who survived the sinking of the enemy merchant ship. In order to accommodate the shipwrecked sailors on board, he will be forced to sail in emersion for three days, risking his life and that of his men. The narrative slant of the story, which actually happened and was written by the director together with Sandro Veronesi, focuses on solidarity among men, beyond issues of warring sides.
Before landing in Venice with a world premiere, Comandante was presented in the Film Co-production market section of the MIA Market in 2019, a move that brought good fortune to the film seeking co-financing.
Another title that has a past in the MIA Market in 2022, in What’s Next Italy, and which we find again today in Venice in the Orizzonti section, dedicated to new trends in cinema, is El Paraíso by Enrico Maria Artale, here in his second long feature after directing episodes of series such as Romulus, Sanctuary and Django. The film is about the symbiotic and dramatic relationship between a Colombian woman and her 40-year-old son (played by Edoardo Pesce)
Photo credits: La Biennale
