10/03/2014 - The film is called Il nome del figlio and was inspired by French hit Le Prénom. In the cast, Alessandro Gassman, Micaela Ramazzotti, Valeria Golino, Luigi Lo Cascio and Rocco Papaleo

Francesca Archibugi is taking her first steps in the realm of comedy. The Roman director’s next film (whose last film, Questione di cuore [+see also:
trailer
film profile], dates back to 2009) will be called Il nome del figlio [+see also:
trailer
film profile], inspired by the great French theatre and cinema success, Le Prénom [+see also:
trailer
film profile] by Alexandre de la Patellière, re-written and adapted to an Italian context by Francesco Piccolo (Il capitale umano [+see also:
trailer
interview: Paolo Virzì
film profile], Habemus Papam [+see also:
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interview: Nanni Moretti
film profile]) and Archibugi herself, with the aim of telling the story of a great generation divide.

Filming will start in May and will take place between Rome and Argentario. The film has an all star cast: Alessandro Gassman (Paolo), an extraverted and jovial real estate broker, and Micaela Ramazzotti (Simona), a beautiful bestselling writer from the suburbs, are about to have their first child. Valeria Golino plays Betta, Paolo’s sister, a school teacher with two children, seemingly happy in her family life. Luigi Lo Cascio plays Sandro, her husband, a refined writer and university professor. Standing in the middle of both couples is childhood friend Rocco Papaleo (Claudio), an eccentric musician who tries to put balance back into the imbalanced lives of others.

“The film could just be an average dinner party among friends who have known each other for years – the production note reads – but instead, after an innocent question on the name Paolo and Simona will give their son, the evening is thrown into chaos. Fierce differences will emerge, as will old-standing grudges, including disputes tied to sex and impotence. Each character will reveal unexpected details, with the evening becoming more and more tragicomic as it progresses.”  

Il nome del figlio will be produced by Indiana Production Company (The First Beautiful Thing and Il capitale umano by Paolo Virzi, The Beginners [+see also:
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trailer
film profile] by Claudio Cupellini), Motorino Amaranto by Paolo Virzì and Lucky Red, which will return to its production activities after Il divo [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Nicola Giuliano
interview: Paolo Sorrentino
interview: Philippe Desandre
film profile] and This Must Be the Place [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Paolo Sorrentino
film profile] by Paolo Sorrentino.

(Translated from Italian)