Once again this year, some of the most talented Italian cinematographers showcasing their work at the 82nd Venice Film Festival are part of the Collettivo Chiaroscuro. They will be accompanied by their films: Luca Bigazzi CCS (Elisa โ Io la volevo uccidere by Leonardo Di Costanzo), Paolo Carnera CCS (the series Il mostro by Stefano Sollima), Daria DโAntonio CCS (always alongside Paolo Sorrentino with the festival’s opening film La grazia), Francesco Di Giacomo CCS (Portobello, the series by Marco Bellocchio about the Enzo Tortora case), Gherardo Gossi CCS (Ammazzare stanca by Daniele Vicari). Tommaso Lusena CCS (the 6:06 film by Tekla Taidelli) and Ferran Paredes Rubio (the series Un Prophรจte by Enrico Maria Artale, in which Dario Di Mella CCS also participates as a cameraman).
Elisa โ Io la volevo uccidere, competing for the Golden Lion, is the fourth feature film by Neapolitan director Leonardo Di Costanzo (three of which feature the cinematography of Luca Bigazzi CCS). The screenplay is written by Di Costanzo, along with Bruno Oliviero and Valia Santella. The main producers are Carlo Cresto-Dina and Manuela Melissano for the production company Tempesta, in collaboration with Michela Pini and Amel Soudani for Amka Films Productions (Switzerland). Other partners include Rai Cinema and RSI Radiotelevisione Svizzera, with significant contributions from institutions such as the Cinema Development Fund, the Swiss Federal Office of Culture (UFC), the Ticino Film Commission, the Emilia-Romagna Film Commission, and the IDM Sรผdtirol Film Commission. The theatrical release is set for 5th September 2025, following the world premiere on 4th September in Venice, thanks to 01 Distribution, while international distribution is handled by Rai Cinema International Distribution. The main cast includes Barbara Ronchi and Roschdy Zem.
Elisa Zanetti is 35 years old and is serving a ten-year sentence for having killed and set fire to her older sister, in an act that seemed to have no apparent motive. Her memories of that day are either confused or completely absent, as if overshadowed by an inner silence. Held in the model prison of Moncaldo, she maintains contact only with her father. A meeting with criminologist Alaoui, brought in to collaborate on a research project about family crimes, sets in motion a painful process of introspection: her memory resurfaces, becomes recognisable, and the protagonist confronts her guilt, amid tears and moments of destabilisation.
Photographed by Paolo Carnera CCS, Il mostro is an Italian television miniseries that tells the well-known case of the “Monster of Florence,” one of the most notorious serial killers in Italian history, responsible for eight double murders, armed with a 22 calibre pistol, in one of the countryโs longest and most complex investigations. Directed by Stefano Sollima, the series is conceived and written alongside Leonardo Fasoli and will be available for exclusive streaming on Netflix from 22nd October 2025. The main cast includes Marco Bullitta, Valentino Mannias, and Francesca Olia, along with Liliana Bottone, Giacomo Fadda, Antonio Tintis, and Giordano Mannu. Produced by The Apartment (Fremantle group) and AlterEgo, the producers are Lorenzo Mieli, Stefano Sollima, and Gina Gardin.
The story is reconstructed solely based on the real investigations and proceedings, with an approach faithful to the established facts.
Anticipated as the opening film of the Festival, La Grazia will be presented in competition. Paolo Sorrentino is also a producer, alongside Annamaria Morelli. Cristiano Travaglioli is responsible for editing, further confirming the long-standing technical team, including Daria DโAntonio CCS, with whom the director enjoys working. The film is produced by The Apartment Pictures (Fremantle group), Numero 10 (Sorrentino’s production company), and PiperFilm, which will also handle its distribution in Italy. The international rights have been acquired by Mubi, with The Match Factory managing global sales. The cast includes Toni Servillo, Anna Ferzetti, Orlando Cinque, Massimo Venturiello, Milvia Marigliano, Giuseppe Gaiani, and Giovanna Guida.
A love story, set in the final days of a fictional Italian presidential term, seen through the eyes of a vulnerable and solitary man of power. Toni Servillo, consumed by the idea of love, grace, and perhaps even redemption, will face crucial decisions in the silence of the Palace: the granting of a pardon and an ambitious reform to mark his place in history.
Photographed by Francesco Di Giacomo CCS, Portobello is a six-episode series conceived and directed by Marco Bellocchio. It reconstructs one of the most dramatic chapters in Italian television and history: the story of Enzo Tortora, the host of the television programme Portobello, who in 1983 was arrested on serious charges: collusion with the Camorra and drug trafficking, based on testimonies from witnesses connected to organised crime. Fabrizio Gifuni plays the role of Enzo Tortora, with the cast including Lino Musella, Romana Maggiora Vergano, Barbora Bobuฤพovรก (as Anna Tortora), Carlotta Gamba, Alessandro Preziosi, Fausto Russo Alesi, and Salvatore DโOnofrio. The screenplay is written by Marco Bellocchio, Stefano Bises, Giordana Mari, and Peppe Fiore. The soundtrack is composed by Teho Teardo. Produced by Our Films (Mediawan), Kavac Film, in co-production with Arte France and in collaboration with The Apartment Pictures (Fremantle), the series is produced by Lorenzo Mieli and Mario Gianani for Our Films, and by Simone Gattoni for Kavac Film. It will be the first original Italian series for the streaming platform Max, which is set to launch in Italy in 2026.
Set in the early 1970s during the expansion of the ‘ndrangheta in northern Italy, Daniele Vicari‘s new film, Ammazzare stanca, tells the true story of Antonio Zagari, who defected from his clan. Photographed by Gherardo Gossi CCS, it is produced by Mompracem (Pier Giorgio Bellocchio, Antonio and Marco Manetti), Beta Film, Rai Cinema, with the support of the Ministry of Culture (MiC), Emilia-Romagna Film Commission, and Calabria Film Commission. The screenplay is by Daniele Vicari and Andrea Cedrola. It is distributed in Italy by 01 Distribution; international sales are handled by Beta Cinema. The film will be presented at the Venice Film Festival in the non-competitive “Spotlight” section. The cast includes Gabriel Montesi, Vinicio Marchioni, Selene Caramazza, Andrea Fuorto, Thomas Trabacchi, Pier Giorgio Bellocchio, Rocco Papaleo, and Francesco La Mantia.
Itโs the early 1970s, and the Calabrian ‘ndrangheta is spreading and dominating, from the south to the north. Antonio, the son of Giacomo, a Calabrian boss transplanted to Lombardy, after having killed repeatedly, realises he is not suited to that life: for him, killing becomes an unbearable burden, until he develops a revulsion for blood, a rebellion of the body before that of the conscience, which, however, puts the people he loves and his own life in danger. While his peers rebel in factories, universities, and the streets, he grows increasingly averse to the exercise of power and the cruelty of his father. He must find the courage to go against his father and plot a vengeance worse than death against him.
The Notti Veneziane section, curated by Le Giornate degli Autori in collaboration with Isola Edipo, features the feature film 6:06 directed by Tekla Taidelli, an Italian-Portuguese co-production developed by Argo Film, Tranky Film, and Filmesdamente, in co-production with Film Algarve, Film Aim. The producers are Tekla Taidelli, Tommaso Lusena De Sarmiento, Roberto Santos. It will be screened in world premiere on 5th September at 21:30 and again on 6th September at 13:00 in the Sala Laguna, with a Q&A session following the screenings. The screenplay is written by the director Tekla Taidelli, along with Edoardo Moghetti and Davide Valle, and the cinematography is by Tommaso Lusena De Sarmiento CCS.
As part of the Series section (out of competition) of the 82nd Venice Film Festival, Un prophรจte by Enrico Maria Artale will be presented, featuring all eight episodes. It is inspired by the 2009 film of the same name by Jacques Audiard. The direction is by Enrico Maria Artale, who is also the executive producer and screenwriter for some episodes. The screenplay is also by Abdel Raouf Dafri and Nicolas Peufaillit. The cinematography is by Ferran Paredes Rubio CCS. The production involves many partners: CPB Films (Marco Cherqui), Media Musketeers Studio (Sรฉbastien Janin), UGC Images, Studiocanal, Savon Noir, MMBV, Camera Lucida, Entourage Series, Staging GmbH, with CANAL+ as the broadcasting partner. The involvement of the Puglia Region is significant, with Apulia Film Commission and the Puglia Region, with technical services provided by Oz Film, and contributions from the POR Puglia FESR-FSE; a total of 54 Puglian workers and locations in Bari, Fasano, Monopoli, Ostuni, and Putignano were involved.
The series tells the story of Malik, a young immigrant incarcerated in a prison in Marseille. From a subordinate figure, Malik learns to survive and gain power, immersing himself in a cruel and hierarchical world.
