16/03/2022 - Gianluca Mangiasciutti’s feature film debut is a thriller produced by Eagle Pictures, which hits Italian cinemas in the autumn

Shooting on The Man on the Road [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Gianluca Mangiasciutti and starring Aurora Giovinazzo (Freaks Out [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Gabriele Mainetti
film profile], Dog Years [+see also:
film review
film profile]) and Lorenzo Richelmy (Rainbow – A Private Affair [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Paolo Taviani
film profile], Ride [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Dolceroma [+see also:
trailer
film profile], Il talento del calabrone) is now underway in Turin with a wrap date set for April. Directed by the 45-year-old filmmaker and screenwriter who has already treated us to successful short films such as Where Water Comes Together With Other Water (nominated for a David di Donatello and Italian Golden Globe award), A Girl Like You (presented at Giornate degli Autori and the recipient of the Nuovo Imaie Talent Award), Je ne veux pas mourir and Butterfly (both nominated for a Silver Ribbon in 2019 and 2020), the film is produced and set to be distributed by Eagle Pictures. 

The film’s subject-matter scooped the 2010 Solinas – Stories for Cinema Prize. Penned by Serena Cervoni and Mariano Di Nardo (Regina [+see also:
film review
interview: Alessandro Grande
film profile], I figli della notte [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Andrea De Sica
film profile]), the screenplay tells the story of Irene, who, at the tender age of 8, is the sole witness to her father’s death at the hands of a hit and run driver. Haunted by a sense of guilt for not remembering the assassin’s face, Irene becomes a rebellious, introverted teen whose sole obsession is justice for her father. She drops out of school and finds work in a factory owned by the icy yet fascinating Michele, who was none other than the man behind the wheel at the time. The young woman doesn’t seem to recognise him, but there’s no doubt in his mind over her identity. Michele feels instinctively protective of the girl, a feeling which soon transforms into love. Totally oblivious, Irene begins to open up and confide in the very man she’s hunting down. But as the net closes in around Michele, something unexpected happens…

The cast also includes Astrid Casali, Eugenio Gradabosco, Marit Nissen, Jozef Gjura and Elisa Lucarelli. Photography is entrusted to Luca Ciuti, editing to Francesco Di Stefano (Freaks Out), set design is by Francesca Bocca, and costumes by Cristina Audisio.

The Man on the Road is made with support of the Turin Piedmont Film Commission and will be released in Italian cinemas in the autumn.

(Translated from Italian)