Sabrina Ferilli and Margherita Buy, a couple like any other in Io e lei
- Maria Sole Tognazzi’s new film, a romantic comedy about the love shared by two women, arrives today in theatres. Other films released this week include Gabriele Muccino's Fathers and Daughters
A love story like many others, built on sharing, eating dinner in front of your favourite TV series, breakfast in bed and understanding, as well as fights, doubt and pauses for reflection. There wouldn’t be anything out of the ordinary about Maria Sole Tognazzi’s new film if it weren’t for the fact that the protagonists are two women. Io e lei, which hits theatres today, puts a female couple at the centre of a romantic comedy, a first in Italian film. The tone is light and sex is barely touched on – this is a film about the everyday. “It’s a love story like many others, not a protest film”, states the director, “the message I wanted to get across is that one relationship is like any other, so rights should be equal for all: in this sense it is a political film”.
Marina and Federica are played by Sabrina Ferilli and Margherita Buy. Marina is a former actress turned restaurateur and her sexual orientation has been well established for some time. Federica, on the other hand, is an architect who was previously married with a son, and this is the first time she has been in love with a woman. The problems start when Federica starts having doubts, driven above all by her fear of what other people think. “Buy’s character has a different experience, one of hidden shyness and fear. The film is also about this, a type of conflict that can affect many people”, confirms Francesca Marciano, who wrote the screenplay with the director and Ivan Cotroneo. The way the film came about is interesting: “After A Five Star Life I wanted to work with Margherita again”, explains Tognazzi, “then at Cannes I met Sabrina and thought it might be nice to work with her too. Then one evening, as I was flicking through TV channels, I saw a scene from La Cage aux Folles and it was like a sign from above” (the protagonist of the film, who acts alongside Michel Sarrault, playing a gay couple, is none other than Maria Sole’s father, the great Ugo Tognazzi – editor’s note). Io e lei [+see also:
trailer
making of
film profile] was produced by Indigo Film and Lucky Red with Rai Cinema; Lucky Red is distributing the film in 243 theatres.
The other releases this week are all Italian and American. First up there’s Gabriele Muccino’s new Italian-American film, Fathers and Daughters [+see also:
trailer
film profile], starring Russell Crowe and Amanda Seyfried, which is being released by 01 in 420 theatres (see news article). Also landing in theatres, with Bolero, is Pecore in erba [+see also:
trailer
interview: Alberto Caviglia
film profile], the original debut film by Alberto Caviglia which was screened in the Horizons section of this year’s Venice Film Festival (see interview). Other new Italian films include La nostra quarantena [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Peter Marcias, with Francesca Neri (distribution by Istituto Luce Cinecittà), A Napoli non piove mai [+see also:
trailer
film profile], the directorial debut of actor Sergio Assisi (distribution by Mediterranea) and Dreams of the Salt Lake [+see also:
trailer
interview: Andrea Segre
film profile] by Andrea Segre, which was recently screened at Venice (see video interview) and is being released by ZaLab. American releases, on the other hand, include The Martian by Ridley Scott, starring Matt Damon (Fox - 493 theatres), Straight Outta Compton (Universal - 170 theatres) and Two Night Stand (M2 - 90 theatres).
(Translated from Italian)
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