PRODUCTION / FUNDING Italy / Poland
Iris Gaeta’s debut feature, Fanum – Shadows from the Past, set to premiere on 20 October
- The Tarquinia-set thriller, an Italian-Polish co-production, stars Valeria Solarino as an archaeologist uncovering secrets from the past, a process that culminates in a series of brutal murders
Iris Gaeta’s debut feature, a thriller titled Fanum – Shadows of the Past, will premiere on Sunday 20 October in Rome, Cineuropa has learnt. Born in 1996, the young director completed a foundation year in Filmmaking and Art & Design at City of Oxford College, then obtained a BA in Film and Television at the University of the Arts London. Meanwhile, she worked as an assistant director on international productions and directed several shorts, including Rising Heartbeats (2019), available on Amazon Prime.
The plot of Fanum – Shadows from the Past follows Marianne Byron (portrayed by Valeria Solarino), a famed international archaeologist, who is on the trail of an epoch-making and revolutionary discovery about the ancient Etruscan civilisation. However, the secrets of the past surface in the present, culminating in a series of brutal murders that seek to desecrate Etruscan culture by emulating their sacrifices.
Juggling new discoveries and buried secrets, Marianne must dig not only into the ancient ruins, but also into human psychology, trying to understand who and what lies behind the murders, of which she becomes the prime suspect. Yet the truth comes at a cost. How far is Marianne willing to go to uncover it?
The script was penned by Cristiano Gazzarrini, Nicolò Gaetani and Enrico Savini. The cast is rounded off by Valeria Bilello, Michele Rosiello, Lorenzo De Moor, Fortunato Cerlino, David Sebasti, Roberto Citran, Federico Pacifici, Cristian Di Sante, Alessia Franchin and Valentina Oteri. The technical crew includes DoP Matteo Bangrazi, production designer Livia Borgognoni, art director Marco Canevari, costume designer Cristina Lucia Maiorano, composer Paky Di Maio, and editors Matteo Bugliarello and Artemide Alfieri.
Fanum – Shadows from the Past was produced by Simona Ferri and Marco Tempera for Rome-based Play Entertainment with Marta Leone and Alessandro Leone for Poland’s Agresywna Banda, with backing from the Roma Lazio Film Commission, Italy’s Ministry of Culture and the Municipality of Tarquinia.
The premiere will take place at the Acquario Romano. The screening is organised by Play Entertainment and Italian film magazine Fabrique du Cinéma in collaboration with the Rome Film Fest. Gaeta, the producers and some of the key cast members will be in attendance.
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