Comandante

The formidable Pierfrancesco Favino delivers a powerhouse performance in gripping maritime thriller COMANDANTE, which opened the 2023 Venice Film Festival. Directed and co-written by Edoardo de Angelis with a tense score co-written by Massive Attack’s Robert Del Naja and based on incredible true events, it follows Salvatore Todaro (Favino) who commands the Italian Royal Navy submarine Cappellini in October 1940. While navigating in the Atlantic Ocean one dark night, the Cappellini comes upon an armed merchant ship sailing with lights out. The ship suddenly opens fire on the submarine and its Italian crew, and a brief but violent battle ensues. Then Todaro makes a selfless decision that contravenes orders and makes history. Soon forced to navigate on the surface of the water, visible to the enemy, the submariners' lives are put at risk in this epic test of courage. Featuring authentically rendered set design, that included the full reconstruction of a real submarine, COMANDANTE delivers a tense and exciting story of wartime humanity on the high seas.

Born in Naples in 1978, director and screenwriter Edoardo De Angelis first discovered his love of filmmaking at 19 and studied at the Rome Film School. In 2011, he made his feature debut with Mozzarella Stories, followed by Perez (IFF15). His more recent and highly acclaimed films are the award-winning Indivisible (IFF17) and The Vice of Hope (IFF18).