Karen Di Porto presents Boccia The Magnificent at the Italian Film Festival in Villerupt
Ondina Studio continues its commitment to contemporary Italian cinema with the premiere presentation of Boccia The Magnificent, the second feature film by Karen Di Porto, at the Italian Film Festival in Villerupt.
Selected out of competition for the 49th edition of the festival, the film will be presented on October 25, 2026, in the presence of the director, who will engage with the audience following the screening. An opportunity to discover this unique comedy before its release in French theaters, scheduled for January 27, 2027, under the distribution of Ondina Studio.
A dive into the behind-the-scenes of 1960s Cinecittà
Directed by Karen Di Porto, Boccia The Magnificent (Italy, 2025, 83 min) takes us into the Cinecittà of 1964, following Tanio Boccia, a B-movie director who embarks on a daring and reckless wager: to shoot four films simultaneously.
Through this lesser-known figure of Italian popular cinema, the director delivers a free and offbeat comedy, enriched by a genuine cinephilic culture, a precise sense of mise-en-scène, and humor that arises from situations and characters.
The film revisits the world of peplums and popular productions of the 1960s, blending resourcefulness, grandiose ambitions, and collective energy. A tongue-in-cheek tribute to an era when Italian cinema displayed boundless inventiveness.
Karen Di Porto, a unique perspective on Italian cinema
Discovered and supported in her early days by Nanni Moretti, Karen Di Porto's cinema pays attention to characters and unique situations.
Her journey as a filmmaker began in Paris. While still studying law during an Erasmus stay at the Sorbonne, it was the theaters of the Latin Quarter, that made her realize she wanted to devote herself to cinema.
Her first feature film, Maria per Roma, presented in official selection at the Festa del Cinema di Roma, won the Globo d'Oro 2018 for Best First Feature. She then directed the documentary Piazza (2022), in collaboration with Sacher Film, Nanni Moretti's production company, followed by Juso per ferie (2026), dedicated to producer Galliano Juso and presented at the Venice Film Festival in 2026.
With Boccia The Magnificent, Karen Di Porto once again asserts her free-spirited tone and her taste for atypical characters, while offering a personal perspective on the history of Italian cinema.
Several premieres in France before the national release
After Villerupt, Boccia The Magnificent will continue its journey through several events dedicated to Italian cinema in France, including the Chambéry Italian Film Fortnight (from November 17 to December 5, 2026) and the Italian Film Encounters in Toulouse, organized by the Cinéma Paradiso association (from November 27 to December 6, 2026).
These are all opportunities to discover on the big screen this whimsical comedy, which revives with humor and tenderness a little-known page from Italian popular cinema.
To be discovered in theaters from January 27, 2027.
Boccia The Magnificent - A film by Karen Di Porto (Italy, 2025, 83 min)
