Laetitia Casta Plays Battered Ex-Wife Accused of Murder in Italian Thriller ‘A Dark Story’; True Colours to Launch Sales in Cannes (EXCLUSIVE)
Laetitia Casta will soon appear on the big screen as the former wife of an abusive southern Italian man whom she is accused of murdering in the thriller “A Dark Story,” directed by Italy’s Leonardo D’Agostini.
In “Dark Story” the French star, whose recent credits include “The Crusade” directed by her husband Louis Garrel, plays Carla (first look image above), the ex-wife of Vito Semeraro, a banker who beat her when they were together and is the father of her three children. She is accused of murdering him a few years after they split up.
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Italian sales company True Colours is launching sales in Cannes on this psychological noir that marks the sophomore feature by D’Agostini whose 2019 debut drama “The Champion” – a soccer dramedy about a young male soccer star and a shy academic who becomes his tutor – sold widely via the same outfit. Andrea Carpenzano (“The Champion,” “Boys Cry,” “Chiara”) stars in “Dark Story” alongside Casta.
“Dark Story,” which is currently in post, is based on a book by Antonella Lattanzi that, besides Italy, has also been published in France, Spain, Germany and Portugal. The thriller follows the investigation into the killing of Vito who, while still married, had a parallel family and murky ties to his southern Italian roots. Expanding shingle Groenlandia is producing the film with RAI Cinema.
True Colours is also launching sales at the Cannes Marché on its first animation feature, the eco-themed “Forest” helmed by Luca Della Grotta and Francesco Dafano and produced by Italy’s AI One. It’s the same team that previously spawned 2020 animation feature “Trash” that sold in more than 30 countries. “Forest,” which is a 3D animation about deforestation – the protagonist of which is a young mushroom named Fey – has already been selected as an in-development project at specialized co-production platforms including Cartoon Movie in the French city of Bordeaux.
Other highlights of the True Colours Canne Marché slate comprise Giorgio Diritti’s “Lubo,” starring Franz Rogowski (“Passages”) and Laura Luchetti’s “The Beautiful Summer” starring Deva Cassel, at her acting debut. True Colours will be showing buyers footage from both films.
“Supernova,” a road movie by Tiziano Russo about a 17-year-old named Elsa who has leukemia and sets off to track down her father, whom she has never met, since she needs him as a donor; Lyda Patitucci’s atmospheric noir “Like Sheep Among Wolves,” which launched in Rotterdam; and comedy “Kung Fu Italian Style,” produced by Lucky Red and Amazon will be screened in Cannes as market premiers.
Also booked by True Colours for market screenings in Cannes are Berlinale title “The Properties of Metals” by Antonio Bigini, which premiered in the Generation K+ competition; Argentinian-Spanish road movie/comedy “Let The Dance Begin” by Marina Serezesky, starring Mercedes Moràn and Dario Grandinetti, which premiered at the Malaga International Film Festival where it won the audience award; and LGBTQ drama “Norwegian Dream” by Lev Igor Devold, which True Colours has already sold to a dozen territories, including the U.K. and U.S.
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