Under the leadership of new CEO Annamaria Morelli, The Apartment — the Fremantle-owned outfit which will attend Venice with three hot titles including Luca Guadagnino’s “Queer” — is set to produce the next project by emerging Italian director Carolina Cavalli.
Cavalli – whose first feature “Amanda” went to Venice and Toronto – is set to shoot a follow-up titled “The Kidnapping of Arabella” that will see her reteam with “Amanda” protagonist Benedetta Porcaroli in the lead role.
Similarly to “Amanda” – an absurdist arrested development comedy that traveled widely and garnered critical praise – “The Kidnapping of Arabella” will see Porcaroli play a young female misfit named Holly who “is convinced that she is the wrong version of herself until she meets a 7-year-old girl who makes her change her mind,” according to the film’s provided synopsis.
“I think lonely people who come together to solve a problem have already solved the biggest one, and this is what makes me happy about this story,” Cavalli said in a statement to Variety.
“I can’t wait to start and I am very grateful for this opportunity,” added the auteur, who also wrote the “Kidnapping of Arabella” screenplay.
Iranian-born multi-hyphenate Babak Jalali, who frequently collaborates with Cavalli and was the editor of “Amanda,” is on board as editor for “Kidnapping of Arabella.”
Shooting on “The Kidnapping of Arabella” is set to start Aug. 21 in Italy’s northern Veneto region. The film is being produced by Elsinore Film alongside The Apartment, which was taken over by Morelli following the exit of the company’s founder Lorenzo Mieli earlier this year.
“Carolina’s second film is perfectly aligned with my vision for The Apartment going forward,” Morelli said in her first interview since becoming the boss of the company, where she heads an entirely female team. “On the one hand, I will continue along the same lines the company is known for, meaning high-end productions involving top Italian talents such as Paolo Sorrentino, Luca Guadagnino etc, and also big international co-productions and prime international IP.”
Morelli – whose experience as a producer is steeped in fostering new filmmakers – added that she also believes “in the need to launch a new generation of Italian auteurs and talents that can travel internationally. This doesn’t mean just producing a few films; it means finding these talents, nurturing them and launching them nationally and internationally, so that they gain a bit more heft.”
Morelli went on to point out how privileged she feels to be taking the reins at The Apartment, which alongside “Queer” is also premiering at Venice Pablo Larrain’s Angelina Jolie-starrer “Callas” and the Joe Wright-directed series “M. Son of the Century” that chronicles Benito Mussolini’s rise to power. Another upcoming The Apartment title is the Jolie-directed drama “Without Blood,” starring Salma Hayek, that is launching from Toronto.
Morelli also underlined the strategic significance for her being part of Fremantle, the broad-shouldered subsidiary of German media giant RTL Group that under the leadership of COO Andrea Scrosati has assembled a galaxy of independently operated top indies around the world including Ireland’s Element Pictures (“Poor Things”), the U.K.’s Dancing Ledge (“The Responder”) and Denmark’s Miso Film (“The Investigation”).
“Andrea has a long-term vision,” she said, noting that “profit is of course important, but it’s not necessarily a short-term necessity. I share Andrea’s enthusiasm in being able to build something long-term thanks to ongoing collaborations with top Italian and international auteurs.”
Morelli said that The Apartment is keen on doing co-prods with other Italian labels such as Italy’s Indigo Film, with whom they are currently in production on veteran auteur Mario Martone’s “Fuori,” a biopic of feminist writer Goliarda Sapienza – best known for posthumously published erotic novel “The Art of Joy” – starring Valeria Golino and Matilda De Angelis (“Citadel: Diana”).