Nineteen (Drama)

Rating:

Director: Giovanni Tortorici
Producer: Aaron Brookner,Agustina Costa Varsi,Marco Morabito,Gabriele Moratti,Luca Guadagnino,Alex Garcia,Paula Vaccaro,Moreno Zani
Screenwriter: Giovanni Tortorici
Cinematographer: Massimiliano Kuveiller
Editor: Marco Costa
Production Designer: Marta Morandini
Costume Designer: Maria Antonia Tortorici
Key Cast: Sergio Benvenuto,Vittoria Planeta,Zacari Delmas,Dana Giuliano,Luca Lazzareschi,Manfredi Marini

Luca Guadagnino produces this electric, true-to-life tale of a young man’s discovery of sex, self and cities as he tries to understand where it is that his journeys are taking him to.

Sicilian teenager Leonardo is embarking on a new life in London, staying in his expat sister’s cramped living space. But he soon finds these new environs stifling and returns to Italy, pursuing a passion for literature in a picturesque medieval Tuscan city. Bursting with confidence and a bit too self-involved, Leonardo clashes with his professors and peers. As he dives into his books, dating apps and social media, however, he moves steadily forward on his own path, always in search of something.

Produced by Luca Guadagnino (Call Me by Your Name, MIFF 2017) and shot on luscious 35mm in Palermo, London, Siena and Turin, Giovanni Tortorici’s playful, semi-autobiographical debut feature emerges from rave receptions at Venice and Toronto. Obsessed with stories from the past but unsure of who he is supposed to be in the present, Leonardo is a character whose mixture of bravado, curiosity and fragility is as endearing and occasionally exasperating as it is easily recognisable for anyone who can recall their young-adult years with a wince.

“A vivid, humane evocation of what it’s like to be 19 years old, with the world at your feet and over your head.” – Variety

MIFF x Elio's Place: The 21 August session is bookable as a Food & Film event.