03/11/2022 - Based on Cesare Pavese’s novel of the same name and toplined by Yile Yara Vianello and Deva Cassel, the new film by the director of Twin Flowerwas shot in Turin

Last week saw filming wrap in Turin on La bella estate, the new film written and directed by Laura Luchetti (who previously gave us Twin Flower [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile], awarded a Fipresci Special Mention at the 2018 Toronto Film Festival), which is based on the homonymous novel by the Piedmont-born writer and poet Cesare Pavese, which was published in 1949 and won the Strega Prize the following year. Steered by Giovanni Pompili and Luca Legnani, this new movie by the Roman director (who made her debut in the world of series last year via Nudes [+see also:
trailer
series profile] – read our interview here) is produced by Kino Produzioni alongside RAI Cinema, Lucky Red and 9.99 Films, in collaboration with Tapelessfilm, and with the support of the Italian Ministry of Culture, the Film Commission Torino Piemonte and MEDIA.

Shot in Piedmont (between Turin, the Avigliana lakes and Carignano), La bella estate stars a cast of young actors, headed up by protagonists Yile Yara Vianello (Corpo [+see also:
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interview: Alice Rohrwacher
film profile] celeste [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Alice Rohrwacher
film profile], The Peacock’s Paradise [+see also:
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interview: Laura Bispuri
film profile], Nudes) and the newcomer born into the profession (aka Monica Bellucci and Vincent Cassel’s daughter) Deva Cassel. They’re joined by Nicolas Maupas (of the TV series The Sea Beyond, Un professore and Nudes), Alessandro Piavani (of the series Blocco 181), French actor Adrien Dewitte (of the series L’Opera and Balenciaga), Cosima Centurioni and Gabriele Graham Gasco, with special appearances also made by Anna Bellato and Andrea Bosca.

It’s 1938 and we’re in Turin. Ginia is sixteen years old, and the future seems to offer endless possibilities. But her present, like that of others, is overshadowed by the Second World War. Like everyone, Ginia wants to fall in love, and she finds her man in a young painter. She discovers the artistic circles of bohemian Turin thanks to her guide Amelia, a sensual and provocative young woman who’s barely older than Ginia but is so very different from anyone else she’s ever met and is ready to shake up Ginia’s many convictions. Torn between a sense of duty and the discovery of a desire which confuses her, Ginia is overwhelmed by emotions which she doesn’t dare give a name to. During her “beautiful summer”, she finally succumbs to her feelings, celebrating her courage to be herself.

Photography is entrusted to Diego Romero Suarez Llanos (Roberto Minervini’s usual partner in crime, rewarded for his work on The Other Side [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Roberto Minervini
film profile]), while editing comes courtesy of Paola Freddi (Monica [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Andrea Pallaoro
film profile] and Princess [+see also:
film review
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interview: Roberto De Paolis
film profile] are among her more recent movies). Shot in accordance with the Green Film guidelines for more sustainable productions, La bella estate will be distributed in Italian cinemas by Lucky Red.

(Translated from Italian)