Shooting under way on Il grande Giaffa, toplined by Edoardo Pesce
- Marco Santi’s debut movie following a man on the margins of society who tries to reinvent himself, is produced by 10D Film and Andromeda Film and further stars Carlotta Gamba and Barbara Chichiarelli

Filming has been underway, since 9 January, on Il grande Giaffa, Marco Santi’s feature film debut revolving around a man on the margins of society who tries to reinvent himself but whose dream of being someone else becomes dangerously real. The movie is being produced by 10D Film and Andromeda Film (Heads or Tails? [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Alessio Rigo de Righi and M…
film profile]) and filming will unfold over a total of four weeks, wrapping on 7 February in Cuneo (Piedmont) and the surrounding area.
Written by Marco Santi (victorious in various festivals with his 2023 short film, Jocu), Lorenzo Bagnatori (Prima della fine - Gli ultimi giorni di Enrico Berlinguer) and Eva De Prosperis, the screenplay tells the story of Giacomo Falta, a middle-aged man whom the world seems to have nonchalantly decided to neglect. Sidelined and never listened to, he tries with scant success to carve out a place for himself in a world where he has no bearings. The turning point comes when the charismatic idol of the moment, the “Great Giason”, comes to town with his theatre show. Giacomo decides to start copying the way Giason talks and moves, believing that all he needs to do in order to count for something and be someone is to wear a mask.
The lead role is played by Edoardo Pesce (awarded a Best Supporting Actor David di Donatello for Dogman [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Matteo Garrone
film profile], and recently seen in Unicorns [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] and Laghat), flanked by Carlotta Gamba (Vermiglio [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Maura Delpero
film profile] and starring in the series Portobello – The Fall of Enzo Tortora [+see also:
series review
trailer
interview: Marco Bellocchio
series profile] this year) and Barbara Chichiarelli (nominated for a David di Donatello trophy via Bad Tales [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Fabio and Damiano D’Innocenzo
film profile] and recently gracing Be Loved [+see also:
film review
film profile]).
Photography is entrusted to Stefano Usberghi, editing falls to Federico Palmerini (A Classic Horror Story [+see also:
trailer
film profile]) and set design comes courtesy of Sabina Angeloni (House of Gucci, The Traitor [+see also:
film review
trailer
Q&A: Marco Bellocchio
film profile]), while the film’s costumes are designed by Francesca Cibischino.
Il grande Giaffa enjoys support from the “Piemonte Film TV Fund” call for submissions as part of the FESR Piemonte Regional Programme for 2021-2027, and was made with backing from the Film Commission Torino Piemonte and the Italian Ministry of Culture’s Film and Audiovisual Investment Development Fund.
(Translated from Italian)
Did you enjoy reading this article? Please subscribe to our newsletter to receive more stories like this directly in your inbox.
















