The 82nd Venice Film Festival (27 August-6 September) looks set to be very much devoted to European cinema for French international sales agent Playtime, whose line-up includes the Italian production My Tennis Maestro by Andrea Di Stefano, which will be unveiled in the official selection (out of competition), and Gorgonà by Greece’s Evi Kalogiropoulou, due to be screened in competition in the International Film Critics’ Week.

With Italian star Pierfrancesco Favino toplining the cast, starring alongside Tiziano Menichelli, Giovanni Ludeno and Dora Romano, My Tennis Maestro is the fourth feature by Di Stefano, who rose to fame at Toronto in 2014 with Paradise Lost and took part in the 2023 Berlinale with a Special Screening of The Last Night of Amore. Written by the director himself, the story unfolds in Italy in 1989. After years of intense training, 13-year-old Felice, carrying his father's expectations on his shoulders, finally sets out to compete in the national tennis tournaments. While dreaming of a simple summer holiday, he's instead placed under the wing of ex-tennis champion Raul, an unconventional coach hired by his father. Match after match, the two embark on a journey that will lead Felice to discover the taste of freedom, and Raul to glimpse the possibility of a fresh start. As they travel along the Italian coast, an unexpected, deep and sincere bond between them develops. The film is being produced by Indiana Production, Indigo Film, Vision Distribution and Memo Film, with support from Sky.

Playtime will be touting a second trump card at Venice: Gorgonà by Greece’s Evi Kalogiropoulou (see the news). This feature debut is being produced by Greece’s Neda Film, and is co-produced by their compatriots at Blonde and by French outfits Blue Monday Productions and Kidam.

The team headed up by Nicolas Brigaud-Robert, Sébastien Beffa and François Yon has also added It Will Happen Tonight by Italy's Nanni Moretti to its line-up - a movie toplined by Louis Garrel and Jasmine Trinca. The shoot will kick off next week, and French outfit Pan Cinéma (which will distribute the film in France) has just been added to the list of co-producers, alongside Spain's BTeam and Irusoin.

Playtime will also be pressing on with sales for Solomamma by Norway’s Janicke Askevold (which was premiered in competition at Locarno) and for its three Cannes selections: the competition entry Eagles of the Republic by Sweden’s Tarik Saleh (which will be shown shortly in Toronto Centrepiece), The Richest Woman in the World by France’s Thierry Klifa (set to be released in France on 29 October) and C’est Si Bon! by his fellow countrywoman Diane Kurys (due for release in France on 1 October). Also standing out on the line-up, and currently in post-production, are Greenland by Emmanuel Courcol (see the article), Nobody’s Son by Safy Nebbou, Chopin, A Sonata in Paris by Poland’s Michał Kwieciński, In a Whisper by Tunisia’s Leyla Bouzid, Five Seconds by Italy’s Paolo Virzì (see the article), Rembrandt by Pierre Schoeller (French theatrical release slated for 24 September) and the Spanish thriller Golpes by Rafael Cobos.

Lastly, Playtime is teaming up with Italian outfit PiperFilm to create a company called Piperplay, which will be dedicated to the international sales of Italian films. The new firm will be managed by Catia Rossi and François Yon. As a reminder, Playtime is part of Vuelta Group (see the news) and, besides its French parent company, encompasses the Films Boutique and Global Constellation subsidiaries in Germany, and Be For Films in Belgium.