SATURDAY 22 NOV – H 18:30 – ROOM 3

FINALLY DAWN
ITALY – 2023 – color – 119’

Direction: Saverio Costanzo
Screenplay: Saverio Costanzo
Cinematography: Sayombhu Mukdeeprom
Editing: Francesca Calvelli
Production design: Laura Pozzaglio
Music: Massimo Martellotta
Costumes: Antonella Cannarozzi
Cast: Lily James (Josephine Esperanto), Rebecca Antonaci (Mimosa), Joe Keery (Sean Lockwood), Rachel Sennott (Nan Roth), Alba Rohrwacher (Alida Valli), Willem Dafoe (Rufo Priori), Sofia Panizzi (Iris), Carmen Pommella (Elvira), Giovanni Moschella (Ugo), Enzo Casertano (Rinaldo), Michele Bravi (singer in drag)
Producers: Mario Gianani, Lorenzo Gangarossa
Production: Wildside with Rai Cinema, in collaboration with Fremantle, Cinecittà S.p.A., Filmnation Entertainment
Distribution: 01 Distribution

synopsis
Finally Dawn is the journey, over the course of one night, in the life of young Mimosa who, in a 1950’s version of Cinecittà, becomes the main character through a few unforgettable hours. A night which will transform her from being a girl into becoming a woman.

critical note
“In Finally Dawn, through the genre of “true cinema,” a powerful fresco of an era emerges—the 1950s, a time filled with hopes and cardboard backdrops, lost illusions and unspoken desires—a historical moment that the Roman film director has succeeded in capturing with remarkable intellectual depth and spectacular masterly, achieving a nearly perfect balance. Not to be forgiven, here and there in the story, are a few excessive emphases or some overly drawn-out passages (for example, the Fellini-like party in the villa, ‘king-size’ in duration). For us, Saverio Costanzo’s film remains a high-quality production, with great international appeal, not to mention it is spoken in two languages, Italian and English. Our cinema is truly in need of works like this.” (Giovanni Spagnoletti, Close Up)

awards and festivals
2023 Mostra di Venezia – Competition: Best Camera Operator to Massimiliano Kuveiller
2023 Telluride FF – Main Program
2023 Haifa FF – Gala
2023 Busan IFF – World Cinema
2024 Settimana del Cinema Contemporaneo Italiano – Ankara
2024 ICFF Italian Contemporary FF
2024 Globi d’Oro: Best Emerging Talent to Rebecca Antonaci
2024 Festa do Cinema Italiano – Panorama
2024 Cinema Italia, Israele
2024 Nastri d’Argento Silver Ribbons: Guglielmo Biraghi Award a to Rebecca Antonaci, Best Production Design, Costumes