Diciannove

{{Short description|2024 Italian-British film by Giovanni Tortorici}}

{{Infobox film

| name = Diciannove

| image = Diciannove.jpeg

| caption = Italian film poster

| director = Giovanni Tortorici

| writer = Giovanni Tortorici

| producer = {{Plainlist|

Aaron Brookner
Francesco Melzi
Alex Garcia
Luca Guadagnino
Marco Morabito
Gabriele Moratti
Paula Alvarez Vaccaro
Agustina Costa Varsi
Moreno Zani

}}

| starring = {{Plainlist|

Manfredi Marini
Vittoria Planeta
Dana Giuliano
Zackari Delmas
Luca Lazzareschi
Sergio Benvenuto

}}

| cinematography = Massimiliano Kuveiller

| editing = Marco Costa

| music =

| production_companies = {{Plainlist|

}}

| distributor = Fandango (Italy)

| released = {{Film date|2024|8|30|Venice|2024|9|30|Italy|df=yes}}

| runtime = 108 minutes

| country = {{Plainlist|

Italy
United Kingdom

}}

| language = Italian

}}

Diciannove ({{translation|Nineteen}}) is a 2024 coming-of-age drama film directed by Giovanni Tortorici in his feature directorial debut. Starring newcomer Manfredi Marini, it follows a restless 19-year-old student on his journey of self-discovery. It premiered at the 81st Venice International Film Festival on 30 August 2024.

Premise

Leonardo, a 19-year-old student, leaves his hometown of Palermo to study economics in London. He soon grows restless and enrolls at the University of Siena to study literature before dropping out of school to study classics on his own. The following year, he travels to Turin to continue his journey of self-discovery.

Cast

Manfredi Marini as Leonardo Gravina
Vittoria Planeta as Arianna Gravina, Leonardo's sister
Dana Giuliano as Grazia, Arianna's roommate
Zackari Delmas
Luca Lazzareschi
Sergio Benvenuto
Maria Pia Ferlazzo as Leonardo's mother

Production

The film is loosely autobiographical, with some elements taken directly from director Giovanni Tortorici's life.{{cite web |last1=Brzeski |first1=Patrick |title=Giovanni Tortorici, a Protégé of Luca Guadagnino, on His Directorial Debut 'Diciannove' |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/giovanni-tortorici-interview-luca-guadagnino-diciannove-1235989530/ |website=The Hollywood Reporter |access-date=2 September 2024 |date=2 September 2024}} He stated:

{{cquote|I was born in Palermo, Sicily. When I was 18 I moved to England because, just like in the movie, I planned to study business. Then I changed my mind – again, just like the movie – and I went to Siena to study literature because I was very passionate about literature. . . . Then at a certain point, I started to think that I wanted to tell stories with cinema, with images. So I left the literature university and I went to a film school in Turin.|author=Giovanni Tortorici{{cite web |last1=Vivarelli |first1=Nick |title=Director Giovanni Tortorici on How Luca Guadagnino Shepherded His Venice and Toronto-Bound Debut 'Diciannove' |url=https://variety.com/2024/film/festivals/director-giovanni-tortorici-luca-guadagnino-venice-and-toronto-diciannove-1236119240/ |website=Variety |access-date=29 August 2024 |date=29 August 2024}}}}

Tortorici met fellow Sicilian Luca Guadagnino while working as an assistant director on Guadagnino's 2020 miniseries We Are Who We Are. Tortorici later showed Guadagnino his script for Diciannove, and Guadagnino loved it so much that he offered to produce the film. Manfredi Marini, who plays Leonardo, was selected for the role via open castings.{{cite web |last1=Finos |first1=Arianna |title=Alla Mostra c'è "Diciannove", sui dolori dello studente fuori sede. Il regista Tortorici: "Mentivo ai miei sugli esami, il cinema mi ha reso felice" |url=https://www.repubblica.it/spettacoli/cinema/2024/08/30/news/diciannove_tortorici_intervista_mostra_venezia_orizzonti-423470974/ |website=La Repubblica |access-date=30 August 2024 |language=it |date=30 August 2024}}{{cite web |last1=Lattanzio |first1=Ryan |title=A Luca Guadagnino Protégé Readies for the World with 'Diciannove' and a Gen Z Heir to Antoine Doinel |url=https://www.indiewire.com/features/interviews/luca-guadagnino-protege-directs-diciannove-filmmaker-interview-1235044229/ |website=IndieWire |access-date=8 September 2024 |date=8 September 2024}}

The film was shot on 35 mm film.{{cite web |last1=Desowitz |first1=Bill |title=2024 Movies Shot on Film: From 'Challengers' to 'Nosferatu' |url=https://www.indiewire.com/features/craft/2024-movies-shot-on-film-kodak-1234945365/ |website=IndieWire |access-date=15 August 2024 |date=24 July 2024}} Principal photography took place in Siena, Palermo, Milan, and London in 2023.{{cite web |last1=Cianferoni |first1=Andrea |title=Iniziano a Siena le riprese del film prodotto da Luca Guadagnino: aperti nuovi casting |url=https://www.ilgiornaleditalia.it/news/spettacolo/484697/iniziano-a-siena-le-riprese-del-film-prodotto-da-luca-guadagnino-aperti-nuovi-casting.html |website=Il Giornale d'Italia |access-date=15 August 2024 |language=it |date=5 May 2023}}{{cite web |last1=Rosi |first1=Eleonora |title=Ciak, si gira 'Diciannove' E Siena sale in cattedra |url=https://www.lanazione.it/siena/cronaca/ciak-si-gira-diciannove-e-siena-sale-in-cattedra-61757739 |website=La Nazione |access-date=15 August 2024 |language=it |date=10 May 2023}} Tortorici's childhood home was also used as a filming location.{{cite web |title=Giovanni Tortorici: "Dietro le buone maniere, i lati peggiori dell'animo umano" |url=https://www.cinematografo.it/riflettori/giovanni-tortorici-dietro-le-buone-maniere-i-lati-peggiori-dellanimo-umano-xje4rfsv |website=Cinematografo.it |access-date=30 August 2024 |language=it |date=30 August 2024}}

Release

File:Cast of Diciannove (Nineteen) at 81st Venice International Film Festival.jpg]]

The film premiered at the 81st Venice International Film Festival on 30 August 2024 as part of the Orizzonti competition.{{cite web |last1=Aricò |first1=Giacomo |title=Festival di Venezia 2024, si comincia: il programma con film, date e le star più attese |url=https://www.vogue.it/article/festival-di-venezia-2024-film-ospiti-programma-date |website=Vogue Italia |access-date=30 August 2024 |language=it |date=2 August 2024}}{{Cite news |date=30 August 2024 |title=Diciannove. Letteratura, arte e tanta "pazienza". Intervista a Giovanni Tortorici e Manfredi Marini |url=https://cinecittanews.it/diciannove-letteratura-arte-e-tanta-pazienza/ |work=Cinecittà News |language=it |access-date=30 August 2024}} That year, it was also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival and the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival.{{cite web |last1=Kay |first1=Jeremy |title=Toronto unveils 2024 Discovery line-up; 'Bonjour Tristesse' to open |url=https://www.screendaily.com/news/toronto-unveils-2024-discovery-line-up-bonjour-tristesse-to-open/5195689.article |website=Screen Daily |access-date=30 August 2024 |date=24 July 2024}}{{cite web |last=Shankar |first=Ananya |title=MAMI Mumbai Film Festival Announces its 2024 Official Film Selections |url=https://www.hollywoodreporterindia.com/lists/all/mami-mumbai-film-festival-announces-its-2024-official-film-selections |website=The Hollywood Reporter India |access-date=13 March 2025 |date=30 September 2024}} On 13 March 2025, Oscilloscope acquired the U.S. rights to the film.{{cite web |last=D'Alessandro |first=Anthony |title=Oscilloscope Takes Luca Guadagnino Feature Production 'Diciannove' |url=https://deadline.com/2025/03/luca-guadagnino-diciannove-1236325632/ |website=Deadline |access-date=13 March 2025 |date=13 March 2025}}

Reception

Kate Erbland of IndieWire gave the film a B+, writing, "Giovanni Tortorici's feature directorial debut is a creative shape-shifter, but once this Luca Guadagino-produced feature finally snaps into focus, it becomes something much more exciting."{{cite web |last1=Erbland |first1=Kate |title='Diciannove' Review: Coming of Age Is Chaos in This Slippery, Sly Italian Debut |url=https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/diciannove-review-giovanni-tortorici-1235040974/ |website=IndieWire |access-date=30 August 2024 |date=30 August 2024}}

Jordan Mintzer of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "Diciannove is unflinchingly honest about what it's like to be 19, and, for the most part, totally lost. And Tortorici's insistence on capturing that feeling while avoiding the usual narrative tropes is what makes his film both fascinating and somewhat impenetrable."{{cite web |last1=Mintzer |first1=Jordan |title='Diciannove' Review: An Uncompromising Chronicle of an Italian College Student Trying, and Mostly Failing, to Find His Way |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/diciannove-review-luca-guadagnino-1235985853/ |website=The Hollywood Reporter |access-date=30 August 2024 |date=30 August 2024}} Guy Lodge of Variety called the film "a vivid, humane evocation of what it's like to be 19 years old, with the world at your feet and over your head".{{cite web |last1=Lodge |first1=Guy |title='Diciannove' Review: A Vivid, Humane Evocation of What It's Like to Be 19 Years Old, With the World at Your Feet and Over Your Head |url=https://variety.com/2024/film/reviews/diciannove-review-1236128983/ |website=Variety |access-date=5 September 2024 |date=5 September 2024}}

Simone Emiliani of Mymovies.it gave the film three-and-a-half out of five stars, calling it a "bold and decidedly convincing debut where even its limitations make it even more electrifying".{{cite web |last1=Emiliani |first1=Simone |title=Diciannove |url=https://www.mymovies.it/film/2024/diciannove/#recensione |website=Mymovies.it |access-date=2 September 2024 |language=it |date=24 July 2024}} Lorenzo Ciofani of Cinematografo.it also gave the film three-and-a-half out of five stars, writing that "Giovanni Tortorici's first work is a disturbing seminar on the youth of a student who loves the literature of the past and does not know what to do in the present".{{cite web |last1=Ciofani |first1=Lorenzo |title=Diciannove |url=https://www.cinematografo.it/recensioni/diciannove-ci54os0q |website=Cinematografo.it |access-date=3 September 2024 |language=it |date=30 August 2024}} Camillo De Marco of Cineuropa called the film "light-hearted, provocative, asyntactic".{{cite web |last1=De Marco |first1=Camillo |title=Recensione: Diciannove |url=https://cineuropa.org/it/newsdetail/466276 |website=Cineuropa |access-date=3 September 2024 |language=it |date=31 August 2024}}

Martina Barone of GQ Italia called the film "a courageous and arrogant debut" and wrote, "If the university years are the same ones in which one experiments the most, so with his debut feature film Giovanni Tortorici decides that it is right to try to be everything and its exact opposite, to have a well-defined character, but at the same time to be able to allow oneself to try, improvise and even make mistakes. Those who have never made a mistake at nineteen have never had the opportunity to grow up, so it is fun to watch a film so openly repulsive, so obsessively focused on not pleasing anyone...."{{cite web |last1=Barone |first1=Martina |title=Diciannove è un film d'esordio coraggioso e arrogante come si può solo a quell'età |url=https://www.gqitalia.it/article/diciannove-film-giovanni-tortorici-mostra-cinema-venezia-2024 |website=GQ Italia |access-date=3 September 2024 |language=it |date=30 August 2024}}

Awards and nominations

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" ! scope="col"\| Award ! scope="col"\| Date of ceremony ! scope="col"\| Category ! scope="col"\| Result ! scope="col"\| {{Ref heading}}
scope="row" \| Venice Film Festival \| 7 September 2024 \| Orizzonti Award for Best Film \| {{nom}} \| {{cite web \|last1=Ford \|first1=Lily \|title=Venice Film Festival Awards: Pedro Almodóvar Wins Golden Lion for 'The Room Next Door' \|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/venice-film-festival-awards-best-film-golden-lion-jury-2024-1235994361/ \|website=The Hollywood Reporter \|access-date=7 September 2024 \|date=7 September 2024}}

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

! scope="col"| Award

! scope="col"| Date of ceremony

! scope="col"| Category

! scope="col"| Result

! scope="col"| {{Ref heading}}

scope="row" | Venice Film Festival

| 7 September 2024

| Orizzonti Award for Best Film

| {{nom}}

| {{cite web |last1=Ford |first1=Lily |title=Venice Film Festival Awards: Pedro Almodóvar Wins Golden Lion for 'The Room Next Door' |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/venice-film-festival-awards-best-film-golden-lion-jury-2024-1235994361/ |website=The Hollywood Reporter |access-date=7 September 2024 |date=7 September 2024}}