The shoot has kicked off in the town of Sutri, in the region of Viterbo, for a new international co-production helmed by Play Entertainment, Death Do Us Part, which is a joint effort involving producers from Italy, the USA, Poland and Spain. The movie is being directed by two young US helmers making their feature debut, David Chavez-Grant and Abigail Ory.

The screenplay has been written by Abigail Ory together with Masha Strasburger and Francesca Marciano, and it’s based on a stage play performed at Harvard University in 2019. The synopsis is as follows: it's the 14th century, and the Black Death has broken out in Europe. Giulia, a rebellious young woman in the small and superstitious village of San Grobiano, perched in the Appennines in Lazio, dreams of becoming a doctor, but society at that time is not ready for her to take on such a role. The epidemic is a chance for her to prove her worth to the world. Thanks to her work as a healer, Giulia discovers that she can see and interact with Death himself, with whom she ends up falling in love, although she will give everything up to save her village.

Death Do Us Part is a cinematic reimagining of the folk tale Death and the Maiden, a dark period comedy set in medieval Italy during the first Black Death pandemic, which tells a story of supernatural love, blending legends, folklore and reality. It’s a journey back in time that causes the viewer to reflect on human beings’ confrontation with the unknown, on superstitions, on prejudice and on the perennial fear of death, all with a good dose of musical comedy: while it’s not a traditional musical, music and songs will still play a crucial role.

The cast brings together Italian and international artists: Ari'el Stachel, Zara Devlin, Riccardo De Rinaldis, Ian O'Reilly, Laura Morante, Alan Cumming, Lidia Vitale, Darko Peric and Claudio Bigagli. As for the crew, the cinematography has been entrusted to Ferran Paredes Rubio (Indivisible [+lire aussi :
critique
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interview : Edoardo de Angelis
fiche film], The Mayor of Rione Sanità [+lire aussi :
critique
bande-annonce
interview : Mario Martone
fiche film] and The Commander [+lire aussi :
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fiche film], for which he earned a nomination for the David di Donatello Awards), the production design is handled by Crispian Sallis (a three-time Oscar nominee for Gladiator, Driving Miss Daisy and Alien), while the costumes have been overseen by Carlo Poggioli (among his other credits are The Young Pope and The New Pope [+lire aussi :
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interview : Paolo Sorrentino
fiche série] by Paolo Sorrentino, and Cold Mountain [+lire aussi :
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fiche film] by Anthony Minghella).

Death Do Us Part is being produced by Italy’s Play Entertainment (among its previous productions are the animated TV series Angel’s Friends, sold to over 30 countries around the world, and the horror flick Shortcut), LFIA LLC (USA), Agresywna Banda (Poland) and Koboflopi (Spain). The shoot will last six weeks and will take place in and around Sutri and Frascati, not far from Rome.