Filming wraps on Lubo by Giorgio Diritti

by Vittoria Scarpa

09/01/2023 - The director behind Hidden Away offers up this Italian-Swiss co-production set in 1939 and starring Frank Rogowski, Christophe Sermet and Valentina Bellè in lead roles

Filming wraps on Lubo by Giorgio Diritti

Franz Rogowski (second from right) in Lubo

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Penned by Giorgio Diritti (who directed The Man Who Will Come [+see also:
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interview: Giorgio Diritti
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trailer
interview: Giorgio Diritti
film profile], and Berlin competition selectee Hidden Away [+see also:
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interview: Giorgio Diritti
film profile] which won Elio Germano a Silver Bear for Best Actor, as well as scooping seven David di Donatello awards) and Fredo Valla, based on an idea by Giorgio Diritti, Fredo Valla and Tania Pedroni, Lubo unfolds in Switzerland in the winter of 1939. Youngster Lubo, who’s of nomadic Yenish descent, is called up for military service in the Swiss army to protect the border. He’s soon joined by his cousin who tells him that the police have taken his children, on account of their being children of itinerants and gypsies, in line with the national re-education programme drawn up by the Kinder der Landstrasse, an organisation governed by the principles of eugenics which gained ground in Europe in the Thirties. Lubo embarks on a vendetta with unexpected repercussions, forcing us to rethink the blurred boundaries between good and evil.

The film was shot over nine weeks between Piedmont, South Tyrol, the Autonomous Province of Trento and Switzerland. "It’s been a wonderful journey back in time, with beautiful places and people”, the director enthused, “who are also rather nomadic, like the protagonist in our film; we travelled between Switzerland and Italy, walking in his footsteps and re-living the painful battles and madness of a man looking for justice and a new life. It’s the result of brilliant teamwork, made possible by the determination and passion of our production companies and the brilliant cast and crew".

The film also stars Noemi Besedes, Cecilia Steiner, Joel Basman, Philippe Graber and Massimiliano Caprara. The crew, meanwhile, includes Benjamin Maier in charge of photography, Giancarlo Basili on set design and Ursula Patzak on costumes. Editing is entrusted to Paolo Cottignola, music to Marco Biscarini and visual effects to Claudio Falconi.

Lubo is an Italian-Swiss co-production by Indiana Production, Aranciafilm in league with RAI Cinema, Hugofilm Features and Proxima Milano. The movie was made in collaboration with RSI Radiotelevisione Svizzera, with the support of the Italian Ministry of Culture’s Film and Audiovisual Department, the Swiss Federal Office of Culture, Zürcher Filmstiftung, the IDM-South Tyrol Film Commission, the Film Commission Torino Piemonte and the Trentino Film Commission. The film will be distributed in Italy by 01 Distribution.