10/02/2026 - Tudor Cristian Jurgiu’s On Our Own will world-premiere in the Forum sidebar as part of the Rome-based outfit’s varied slate

Rome-based sales agent True Colours will return to Berlin’s European Film Market (EFM, 12-18 February) with a carefully curated slate that strikes a balance between strong festival visibility, socially resonant storytelling and established auteurs. The company will be present with both market premieres and screenings, while also spotlighting a selection of upcoming projects, including a Berlinale Forum title set to be presented during the festival itself (12-22 February).

Leading the upcoming line-up is Happy Days, the new feature by Susanna Nicchiarelli, which marks the filmmaker’s return to fiction with an intimate and formally bold coming-of-age portrait. The film centres on Claudia, a 20-year-old woman suspended between past and future loves, whose body physically transforms when overwhelmed by emotion. Through this unusual conceit, Happy Days explores female identity, emotional exposure and vulnerability, continuing Nicchiarelli’s long-standing interest in subjective experience and interior transformation. The project stands as one of True Colours’ key forward-looking titles, aimed squarely at international arthouse audiences. Vivo Film is producing the pic, which boasts a cast toplined by Carlotta Gamba, Riccardo Scamarcio and Bruno Orlando.

The company’s Berlinale presence is anchored by On Our Own by Tudor Cristian Jurgiu, which will world-premiere in the Forum. A Romanian-Italian co-production, the film draws inspiration from the estimated 150,000 Romanian children whose parents have left the country to work abroad. Set in a small Romanian town, the story follows Flavia, a self-reliant teenager forced into premature adulthood after her parents move to Italy. When she takes in two runaway siblings, her fragile attempt at building a surrogate family exposes the emotional cost of abandonment and the unresolved absence shaping an entire generation. Running at 95 minutes and shot in Romanian, the film positions itself as a socially engaged drama with strong resonance for international festivals and public broadcasters.

Among the market screenings is Between Dreams and Hope, directed by Farnoosh Samadi, a queer love story set in Iran that doubles as a portrait of the country’s very young generation. The film observes characters caught between deeply rooted traditions and an urge for self-determination, foregrounding questions of gender, identity and resistance. Framed as the journey of a trans man and his partner travelling to a remote village to confront family estrangement and secure legal recognition, the film blends intimacy with political urgency, and is positioned by True Colours as a strong crossover title for festivals and specialised distributors.

Also screening at the market is A Brief Affair, penned and helmed by Ludovica Rampoldi. Already sold in more than 30 territories, the film combines thriller, drama and romantic tension in a story of obsession and emotional imbalance. Centred on a secret relationship that gradually turns destructive, the film stars Valeria Golino, Pilar Fogliati, Andrea Carpenzano and Adriano Giannini. With a 98-minute running time and a strong track record in international sales, A Brief Affair represents one of True Colours’ most commercially established titles at this year’s EFM.

The slate continues with the Venice-premiered Bravo Bene! [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] by Franco Maresco, a satirical documentary-comedy that follows the eccentric, self-destructive filmmaker, who is unable to complete his own movie on legendary Italian theatre artist Carmelo Bene. Mixing autobiography, provocation and meta-cinematic reflection, the work revisits Maresco’s corrosive view of Italian society and the cultural system that surrounds it.

The line-up also includes Andrea’s Island [+see also:
film review
film profile] by Antonio Capuano (also premiered on the Lido last year), an intimate family drama told from a child’s perspective, exploring parental conflict, separation and the emotional fallout of custody disputes. The cast is led by Vinicio Marchioni and Teresa Saponangelo.

Further broadening the catalogue’s tonal range is Orfeo [+see also:
film review
interview: Virgilio Villoresi
film profile], directed by visual artist and filmmaker Virgilio Villoresi. Drawing on experimental cinema, animation and myth, the film tells the story of a solitary pianist haunted by absence and disappearance, blending fantasy and psychological introspection in a highly stylised form. The market selection is rounded off by Almost Grazia, Peter Marcias’ biographical portrait of Nobel Prize-winning writer Grazia Deledda (played by Laura Morante), tracing her personal and political struggle to claim a voice in a literary world dominated by men. Finally, True Colours will also present Luca della Grotta and Francesco Dafano’s Forest, an animated eco-adventure aimed at younger audiences, signalling the company’s continued interest in broadening its scope across formats and age groups.