26/02/2026 - Starring Fausto Russo Alesi, the film follows the heir to a family business whose reckless investments combine with the financial crisis to suck him into a spiral of debt

Shooting has kicked off in Piedmont on Brianza, the new feature film by Turin-born director and producer Simone Catania, who’ll be shooting in the region for roughly three weeks before moving on to Lombardy and Switzerland.

The film’s protagonist is played by Fausto Russo Alesi (nominated for a David di Donatello trophy via Exterior Night [+see also:
series review
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interview: Marco Bellocchio
series profile] and recently seen in Duse [+see also:
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trailer
interview: Pietro Marcello
interview: Valeria Bruni Tedeschi
film profile]), with support from Paolo Pierobon (Kidnapped [+see also:
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film profile], and recently cast in Portobello – The Fall of Enzo Tortora [+see also:
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interview: Marco Bellocchio
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interview: Joe Wright
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interview: Giorgio Diritti
interview: Giorgio Diritti
interview: Valentina Bellè
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interview: Hannes Baumgartner
film profile], Carnivores [+see also:
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interview: Jérémie and Yannick Renier
film profile]).

Set in 2010 and based on real events, Brianza follows Giorgio Farina, the heir to a family business founded by his grandfather, whose reckless investments combine with the financial crisis to suck him into a spiral of debt. Forced to lie to his loved ones in order to hide his failure, and suffocated by a provincial town’s social and cultural dynamics, Giorgio – who’s also a widely respected police consultant – ends up carrying out an act he never would have thought possible.

The film’s screenplay was penned by Ugo Chiti, Fabio Natale and Catania himself. Photography is entrusted to Pietro Zuercher, while sound falls to Giovanni Corona, music to Victor Hugo Fumagalli and editing to Chiara Griziotti.

A director and producer who’s also a founder of Turin-based firm Indyca, the film sees Catania stepping behind the cameras once again following his first work, Drive Me Home [+see also:
film review
trailer
film profile] (2018). His future projects also include the feature film in development Tina, which is similarly based on a true story.

Brianza is being produced by Indyca and Switzerland's Beauvoir Films together with Switzerland's Rough Cat, with support from the 2021-2027 FESR Piemonte – “Piemonte Film TV Fund” call for submissions and the Film Commission Torino Piemonte – Piemonte Film TV Development Fund.

(Translated from Italian)