Matteo Garrone’s “Io Capitano” is getting a special screening on Wednesday in Brussels, where hundreds of EU parliament members will watch the timely immigration drama on which Pathè has announced a slew of sales.
The film, which is Italy’s Oscar candidate for best international feature film, world premiered to strong reviews in September at Venice Film Festival, where it won best director for Garrone and best emerging actor for its co-star Seydou Sarr.
Shot over 13 weeks in Senegal, Italy and Morocco with a cast of non-professional actors, the Italian auteur’s latest feature – the title for which translates to “Me Captain” – narrates the Homeric journey of two young African men, Seydou and Moussa, who decide to leave Dakar to reach Europe. It depicts their plight through the pitfalls of the desert, the horrors of detention centers in Libya and the dangers of the sea.
Pathé International has announced “Io Capitano” sales to: Paradiso (Benelux); Pathé Films AG (Switzerland); Pathé BC (French speaking Africa); Immina (Canada); Weirdwave (Greece/Cyprus); Nos (Portugal); Youplanet/Caramel (Spain), Altitude (UK), Exponenta (Cis), Edge (Baltics/Scandinavia), Bad Unicorn (Romania); Beta Films (Bulgaria); Vertigo (Hungary); Pilot Films (Czech/Slovakia); Aurora (Poland); MCF (Yugoslavia); CTV (Central/South America); Alliance (India); Falcon (Indonesia); Rialto (Australia/New Zealand); New Cinema (Israel); Moving Turtle (Middle East); Mongol Film (Mongolia); BIR Film (Turkey); Entermode (South Korea) and Svoekino (Ukraine).
Following the film’s American tour in New York and Los Angeles earlier this month, they are now in advanced negotiations for a U.S. sale.
Along with Garrone, producer Paolo Del Brocco,and the entire “Io Capitano” team, two former Senegalese migrants, Fofana Amara and Mamadou Kouassi, will attend the Brussels screening. Amara and Kouassi were inspirational for Garrone and advised the director when writing and shooting the film.
The EU parliament event, titled “Europe Seen With Other Eyes,” will be followed by an onstage conversation and debate which comes as Italy’s right-wing government is trying to stem the soaring flow of migrants wanting to enter the country. So far this year, 145,000 migrants have arrived in Italy by sea — piled into smugglers’ boats unfit for sea voyage — compared to 88,000 during the same period last year, according to government figures.
“This film tells a story that we all know, only that it’s seen from a different angle: not from a Western point of view of the boats coming in, but from the point of view of those who undertook this journey in an attempt to pursue their dreams,” Garrone said during a recent screening for Rome high school students.
In Italy, “Io Capitano” has scored more than 700,000 admissions, and grossed above €4 million ($4.3 million) at the Italian box office, which is a handsome take for a social drama with no stars. Pathé will release the film in France on Jan. 3.
“Io Capitano” has also garnered key nominations in the best European film and best European director categories at the European Film Awards, which will take place in Berlin in early December.
The film is an Italy-Belgium co-production, produced by Garrone’s own Archimede shingle, RAI Cinema and Belgium’s Tarantula, along with Pathé and Logical Content Ventures.