Shooting has kicked off in Rome on the new project by acclaimed director Marco Bellocchio: the series Portobello, which focuses on the true story of Enzo Tortora, a clamorous miscarriage of justice which rocked Italy in the 1980s. The 6-episode series about the famous presenter of TV show Portobello – on air for seven editions from 1977 – who was accused by several cooperating witnesses of being part of a Camorra-linked association dedicated to drugs trafficking. Tortora was thrown into prison and tried for years before being definitively cleared of all charges.

“Tortora suffered a great injustice: he was arrested, tried and sentenced, and only totally cleared after a long legal odyssey. He was a fighter, but the fight made him ill and ultimately took his life. I won’t turn him into a saint, I’ll dig deep down into this man’s story in a series, because a film couldn’t contain it”, Marco Bellocchio explained.

Bellochio’s most recent accolades include an honorary Palme d’Or at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival where he presented his documentary Marx Can Wait [+lee también:
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Q&A: Marco Bellocchio
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entrevista: Marco Bellocchio
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ficha de la película]. All of the above-mentioned works were also presented in Cannes.

The cast of Portobello stars Fabrizio Gifuni (awarded the Best Actor David di Donatello trophy for Exterior Night and the Best Supporting Actor David for Human Capital [+lee también:
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entrevista: Paolo Virzì
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entrevista: Giovanni Dota
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entrevista: Paola Cortellesi
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entrevista: Francesca Comencini
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entrevista: Fabio Grassadonia y Antoni…
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entrevista: Francesco Lettieri
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Portobello is the first series produced by Our Films, a company founded by Lorenzo Mieli and Mario Gianani (which is part of the Mediawan group) and the leading independent European studio for audiovisual content. The show is being produced in league with Bellocchio, Francesca Calvelli and Simone Gattoni's firm, Kavac Film, in co-production with ARTE France and in collaboration with The Apartment Pictures (of the Fremantle group).

As well as in Rome, filming on Portobello will also unfold in Sardinia, Campania and Lombardy. The series will be released shortly in both cinemas and on TV.