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Minerva Pictures at the 81st Venice International Film Festival!

28 August 2024

Minerva Pictures arrives at the 81st Venice International Film Festival with a rich calendar of events and screenings! This year, we’re bringing four titles to the Lido that reflect our approach to independent cinema in various forms. Additionally, The Film Club returns as the Official Partner of the Settimana Internazionale della Critica (SIC).

The event kicks off on August 30 at 11:55 PM with the world premiere of Cloud, the new film by Kiyoshi Kurosawa, marking the Japanese master’s return to Venice after his Silver Lion win in 2020 for Wife of a Spy, both distributed by Minerva Pictures.
On September 4 at 4:00 PM, we’ll present Twst – Things We Said Today, a new documentary by Andrei Ujică, screened out of competition, which explores the history and cultural impact of The Beatles through the experiences of various fans and musicians.

On September 6 at 2:00 PM, we’ll showcase the 4K restoration of Lina Wertmüller‘s Swept Away (1974), competing in the Venice Classics section. The restoration was carried out by the Cineteca di Bologna Foundation in collaboration with Minerva Pictures.

Closing the festival on September 7 at 9:00 PM is the highly anticipated The American Garden, Pupi Avati’s latest gothic thriller, adapted from his novel of the same name, presented as the closing event of the Venice Film Festival. The cast includes Filippo Scotti, previously awarded for The Hand of God, and the acclaimed British actress Rita Tushingham. A production by Minerva Pictures and Duea Film in collaboration with Rai Cinema.

For the 2024 Venetian Nights, the annual showcase dedicated to Italian cinema within the Venice Film Festival’s Giornate degli Autori, on August 31, we’ll screen High Stakes – A Night in the Ward, a black comedy by Giovanni Dota featuring Carlo Buccirosso and Lino Musella. Minerva Pictures handles its international sales.

Finally, for the third consecutive year, The Film Club will be the Official Partner of the Settimana Internazionale della Critica (SIC). and will present The Film Club Audience Award.

Stay tuned on our social channels for all the updates, curiosities, and behind-the-scenes action directly from the Lido!

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Minerva Pictures at the 81st Venice International Film Festival!

24 July 2024

This year, Minerva Pictures returns to the 81st Venice International Film Festival with three films and confirms The Film Club as the Official Partner of the 39th Settimana Internazionale della Critica!

The American Garden, a new Gothic genre film directed by Pupi Avati and based on his novel of the same name, will be featured as a closing event outside of competition! A production by Minerva Pictures and Duea Film with Rai Cinema. The cast includes Filippo Scotti, winner of the Mastroianni Award at the 2021 Venice Film Festival for Paolo Sorrentino’s The Hand of God, alongside the multi-award-winning British actress Rita Tushingham.

Swept Away (1974), written and directed by Lina Wertmüller, will be presented in competition in a restored 4K version in the Venice Classics section. The restoration was done by the Fondazione Cineteca di Bologna in collaboration with Minerva Pictures.

Cloud, the return to Venice for Kiyoshi Kurosawa following his 2020 Silver Lion for Best Director win for Wife of a Spy. The film will have its world premiere in Venice out of competition. Distributed by Minerva Pictures, which also brought the Japanese master’s previous work to Italy.

Additionally, for the third consecutive year, The Film Club returns to the Lido as the Official Partner of the 39th Settimana Internazionale della Critica and will present the audience award, The Film Club Audience Award, at the end of the event. Join us at the Casa della Critica from August 28 to September 7!

#staytuned for updates, news, curiosities, and behind-the-scenes content directly from the Lido!

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Pupi Avati’s “The American Garden” selected at De Rome à Paris 2024

26 January 2024

The De Rome à Paris festival, now in its 16th edition, returns to the Ville Lumière to celebrate Italian cinema in an intense day of professional encounters. We are delighted to announce that today, on January 26, Minerva Pictures will take center stage by presenting the preview of The American Garden in the Works in Progress section.

This new gothic genre film, adapted from Pupi Avati‘s novel of the same name, is directed by the Maestro himself and is currently in post-production. The cast features Filippo Scotti, who has already won the Marcello Mastroianni Award at the Venice Film Festival for The Hand of God (2021) by Paolo Sorrentino, alongside the award-winning British actress Rita Tushingham.

De Rome à Paris is organized by Cinecittà in collaboration with the General Directorate of Cinema and Audiovisual of the Ministry of Culture, CNC, and Unifrance.

This is an unmissable event that underscores Minerva Pictures’ ongoing commitment to bring high-quality Italian cinema to the international stage. We look forward to welcoming you today at the CNC (Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée) for this extraordinary preview!

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First take for L’orto americano, Pupi Avati’s gothic film

11 December 2023

The filming of L’orto americano is underway, a gothic film based on Pupi Avati‘s novel, who also directs it. The cast includes Filippo Scotti (È stata la mano di Dio), the award-winning British actress Rita Tushingham, Armando De Ceccon (Oltre la bufera), Roberto De Francesco (Il silenzio grande), Chiara Caselli (Lei mi parla ancora), Romano Reggiani (Eravamo bambini), Cesare Cremonini, and Andrea Roncato.

Cesare Bastelli is in charge of cinematography, Biagio Fersini handles the set designs, Beatrice Giannini designs the costumes, and Ivan Zuccon takes care of the editing.

Seven weeks of filming are planned, spanning locations in Rome and its surroundings, Cinecittà Studios, the Delta del Po, and the city of Davenport in Iowa.

L’orto americano is produced by Santo Versace and Gianluca Curti for Minerva Pictures, and Antonio Avati for DUEA Film, in collaboration with Rai Cinema. The film is made with the support of the Emilia-Romagna Film Commission.

Synopsis
Bologna, in the 1940s. A mentally troubled young man with literary aspirations falls desperately in love with a female auxiliary in the American army with just a glance. A year later, circumstances lead him to live in the American Midwest, right next to, but separated by a ominous garden, where the elderly mother of the soldier lives. The woman is desperate for her daughter, who, since the end of the conflict, after writing that she would marry an Italian, has not been heard from. The young man embarks on a tense search for the girl, experiencing a particularly dramatic situation, leading to an entirely unexpected conclusion in Italy.