“Congratulations to the production and the director from Belluno Francesco Sossai for having brought our Veneto to the screens of one of the most prestigious events in the world for cinema such as the Cannes Film Festival in the section A certain regard. This project benefited from a regional contribution of €300,000 from the PR ERDF funds dedicated to audiovisual production. These film productions are operationally supported by the Veneto Film Commission and confirm the importance of the Veneto Region's investment in this sector. This commitment aims to strengthen the competitiveness of Veneto companies active in the film and audiovisual sector, highlight local technical and artistic expertise, and promote awareness of the region's cultural heritage, landscape, and manufacturing excellence.
The regional councillor for culture, Cristiano Corazzari, commented on the news of the film's official selection in these terms.
“The cities of the plain” by Francesco Sossai from Belluno produced by Marta Donzelli and Gregorio Paonessa for Vivo Film (Italy) with Rai Cinema and is co-produced by Philipp Kreuzer and Cecilia Trautvetter for Maze Pictures (Germany), with the support of Eurimages and the MIC – Directorate General for Cinema and Audiovisual. The film was made with the contribution of Veneto Region (PR ERDF Veneto 2021-2027), with the support of the Foundation Veneto Film Commission, and with the contribution of Filmförderungsanstalt and Die Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien.
“I take this opportunity to remind you that the first one is open 2025 call of 3 million euros "To access funding to support cultural, creative, and audiovisual enterprises under the ERDF 2021-2027 Regional Development Fund," Corazzari adds. "A new call for proposals for an additional €3 million will be launched in the fall. A total of €6 million will be allocated for 2025 to support audiovisual production in Veneto. This measure not only aims to attract national and international film production companies to invest in the region, but also to promote the competitiveness of Veneto companies in the sector and promote our region.".
Francesco Sossai and Adriano Candiago sign the subject and screenplay of this story of friendship and growth which sees as protagonists Philip Scotti (Marcello Mastroianni Award to a young emerging actor in Venice for It was the hand of God [+], recently seen in The American Garden [+]), Sergio Romano (With the grace of a God [+], The Kite [+]) and the singer-songwriter Pierpaolo Capovilla. Carlobianchi and Doriano, two penniless fifty-year-olds, have an obsession: going for their last drink. One night, wandering by car from bar to bar, they accidentally stumble upon Giulio, a shy architecture student. The encounter with these two unlikely mentors will profoundly transform Giulio's way of seeing the world and love, and of imagining the future. A road movie across the endless Veneto plain that travels at the speed of sobering up. The cast also includes Roberto Citran and Andrea Pennacchi.
“I am happy and excited that the journey of Le città di pianura "Take us, with our bizarre protagonists, from Veneto to the Croisette," says Sossai. "Returning to Cannes, for the first time in the Official Selection, is an honor that I share with all the people who made this film possible." The 36-year-old director, originally from the province of Belluno and a graduate of the Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie in Berlin, has already been to Cannes at the Directors' Fortnight with his short film. Enrico's birthday (2023), later nominated for the Deutscher Filmpreis and shortlisted for the European Film Awards and the César Awards. His first feature film, Other cannibals [+] (2021), was presented among others in the first feature film competition of the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival. (source Cineuropa)
