After premiering his high-concept meta-comedy A Brighter Tomorrow in competition at Cannes last year, 2001 Palme d’Or-winning Italian auteur Nanni Moretti is preparing to go back behind the camera for his new feature, It Will Happen Tonight, a romantic drama loosely inspired by Hungry Heart, a collection of short stories by Israeli writer Eshkol Nevo.

The movie will star French actor-director Louis Garrel (The Three Musketeers, The Second Act, Couture) and Italian thesp Jasmine Trinca, who made her screen debut in Moretti’s The Son’s Room and last collaborated with him on The Caiman (2006). Garrel and Trinca will be joined by Angela Finocchiaro, Elena Lietti, Antonio De Matteo, Andrea Lattanzi, Hippolyte Girardot, Pietro Ragusa and Paolo Sassanelli. Moretti himself is expected to appear only briefly in a cameo role.

It Will Happen Tonight has been adapted by Moretti alongside his longtime co-writers Federica Pontremoli and Valia Santella. Specific plot details remain undisclosed, but the film is set to begin shooting in Italy and Spain this autumn.

The project is being produced by Moretti’s own banner, Sacher Film, and Fandango in collaboration with RAI Cinema. Moretti previously adapted another work by Nevo – Three Floors Up – for his 2021 feature Three Floors, which also vied for the Palme d’Or.

It Will Happen Tonight marks a personal milestone for the director, who reportedly recovered swiftly from a heart attack suffered in April. The pic’s development was first reported by Roman magazine Il Messaggero.

Watch this space.