Rome-based sales agency True Colours has added Edoardo de Angelis’ “Comandante,” which opens the Venice Film Festival, to its slate. The film, which plays in the main competition section, stars Pierfrancesco Favino (“World War Z,” “Angels & Demons”).
“Comandante” is based on the true story of Italian submarine commander Salvatore Todaro and the events that occurred in October 1940, when Todaro was in command of the Italian Royal Navy submarine Cappellini.
One night, while navigating in the Atlantic, the Italian vessel sinks an armed Belgian merchant ship, and Todaro decides to take the 26 shipwrecked crew members on board his already crowded submarine, aiming for the nearest safe harbor to release them. It is an unexpected action in the context of war, but follows the law of the sea, and endangers his life as well as that of his men, since the submarine has to navigate on the surface of the water for three days, visible to the enemy forces.
This is the third film by De Angelis handled by True Colours for world sales. The director’s “Indivisible” premiered in 2016 in the Venice Days sidebar to the Venice Film Festival, and traveled to more than 50 international film festivals, including Toronto and London, while De Angelis’ latest work, “The Vice of Hope,” premiered at Toronto and won the best director and best actress awards at the Tokyo Film Festival in 2018.
Favino, one of the most renowned contemporary Italian actors, recently played striking characters in films released worldwide such as “Nostalgia” by Mario Martone (Cannes Competition, 2022) and “The Traitor” by Marco Bellocchio (Cannes Competition, 2019).
The international cast of the film also includes Johan Heldenbergh (“Quo Vadis, Aida?,” “Broken Circle Breakdown”), Johannes Wirix and Massimiliano Rossi (TV series “Gomorrah,” “Indivisible”).
The script is written by De Angelis and Sandro Veronesi.
“Comandante” is produced by Indigo Film and O’Groove with Rai Cinema, Tramp LTD, V-Groove and Wise Pictures, in association with the Belgian company Beside Production. 01 Distribution will handle the release in Italy.