A coming-of-age tale about a boy approaching 18 and the thorny path he treads towards growth. This is the concept for the debut feature by Davide Angiuli, titled Cattiva Strada (lit. “Wicked Road”), the shoot for which has just concluded. The movie is being produced by Mario Mazzarotto for Movimento Film, Francesco Lopez for Oz Film and Guglielmo Marchetti for Notorious Pictures, in conjunction with RAI Cinema, with support from the Ministry of Culture’s General Directorate of Film and Audiovisual, and with contributions from the Apulia Film Commission’s Apulia Film Fund and the Apulia region.

Filmed entirely in Bari, in the neighbourhood of San Paolo, on the city’s seafront and in the San Nicola stadium, the film tells of Donato, burdened by the weight of family responsibilities and faced with a crucial decision: embrace crime or try to build a different future for himself. He is searching for a sense of belonging in a city that seems to want to push him away, and which is simultaneously a cage and a safe haven. “The film,” read the production notes, “attempts to paint an intimate and raw portrait of a generation seeking redemption, teetering between the calling of the family and the temptation born of crime, set in a true-to-life, rugged Bari, but one that is profoundly human”.

The main character is played by Malich Cissè, who appeared in Dry [+lire aussi :
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Angiuli, who also penned the screenplay and composed the score, previously shot the short film Margherita in 2024, which he presented in competition at the Lecce European Film Festival and at the Los Angeles, Italia event in 2025.

Cattiva Strada will be released in 2026, courtesy of Notorious Pictures.