The apocalyptic thriller “Siccità,” directed by Paolo Virz (“Human City,” “Like Crazy”), has began filming in Rome. It is set during a prolonged drought in the Italian capital and stars Monica Bellucci, Sara Serraiocco (“Counterpart”), and Silvio Orlando (“The Young Pope”).
Wildside, the Fremantle-owned firm behind “The Young Pope,” “My Brilliant Friend,” and “We Are Who We Are,” is producing with Mario Gianani and Lorenzo Gangarossa. Vision Distribution, a joint venture between Comcast’s Sky Italia and five major Italian production firms, will distribute the film in Italy, with a theatrical release planned.
The film follows a group of people from all walks of life who are linked by a sad, mocking thread as they seek salvation.
Paolo Giordano (“We Are Who We Are”) collaborated on the plot concept with Virz, whose English-language film “The Leisure Seeker,” starring Donald Sutherland and Helen Mirren, was distributed in the United States by Sony Pictures Classics.
Francesca Archibugi (“The Leisure Seeker”), Francesco Piccolo (“My Brilliant Friend,” the series), Giordano, and Virz co-wrote the script for “Siccità,” which means drought in English.
Bellucci most recently acted in Tunisian filmmaker Kaouther Ben Hania’s “The Man Who Sold His Skin,” which is nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. In “N: Napoleon and Me,” she previously collaborated with Virz.
In addition to Bellucci, Serraiocco, and Orlando, the ensemble cast of “Siccità” features Valerio Mastandrea (“Perfect Strangers”); Elena Lietti (“Three Floors”); Claudia Pandolfi (“Baby”); and Tommaso Ragno (“Fargo”).
