01/09/2025 - VENICE 2025: Andrea Di Stefano signs a road-movie about the unexpected and deep relationship between an out-of-the-box tennis maestro and his young and shy student

Tiziano Menichelli and Pierfrancesco Favino in My Tennis Maestro

Presented out of competition at the 82nd Venice Film Festival, the fourth feature by Italian director and actor Andrea Di Stefano, My Tennis Maestro, tells the story of an encounter that will forever change the lives of its two protagonists. Led by a Pierfrancesco Favino literally inhabited by his character, the film depicts the tender and unexpected relationship between Raul Gatti (Favino), a tennis maestro with a rather tumultuous past, and Felice (played by the young and promising actor Tiziano Menichelli), a 13-year-old boy suffocated by the strict rules of his father, who thinks he could become a hopeful in international tennis.

Very far away from the subversive atmosphere of Challengers [+see also:
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Raul’s attitude, an example of the Italian macho man who never misses an opportunity to seduce every woman he sees, is so fastidious that one wonders whether they will be able to stand it for the almost two hours of the film. And yet, Favino’s talent allows one to understand, from the very first images, that underneath his swagger hides something much darker, secrets that nobody really knows. Amongst (many) defeats, lies, unexpected encounters and rule violations, the two characters will learn to appreciate each other for what they are: inevitably and exquisitely imperfect beings. The film therefore also talks about masculinity and the pressure, which was still huge at the end of the 1980s, to be a “real” man, all in one piece, strong and sure of himself. Together, Raul and Felice will challenge this myth despite themselves, reminding us of how important it is to cure, without shame, the wounds we carry inside. Entertaining without falling into excess, positive yet not overly optimistic, My Tennis Maestro is a comedy to be tasted with pleasure, sublimated by an excellent group of actors, music (both diegetic and extra-diegetic) meticulously crafted down to the smallest details (Bartosz Szpak) and high-level cinematography (Matteo Cocco).

My Tennis Maestro was produced by Indiana Production, Indigo Film and Vision Distribution. Playtime is handling international distribution.

(Translated from Italian)