Italy’s Minerva Launches World Sales on Dystopian Drama ‘Mondocane’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentIn 1968, idealistic Italian engineer Giorgio Rosa founded an independent micro nation on a tiny island he built on a platform supported by steel pylons off the coast of Rimini, Italy, outside Italian territorial waters.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentThe world took to social media on Wednesday to mourn the death of Argentine soccer player Diego Armando Maradona, among the greatest soccer players of all time, whose career skyrocketed in Italy where he played for A.C. Napoli starting in the mid-1980s.Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte tweeted, “The entire world mourns the loss of Maradona, who with his unequalled talent has written unforgettable pages in soccer history.

Jamie Lang Arguably the greatest soccer player to ever live, Argentina’s Diego Maradona has died, his attorney confirmed to Reuters. He was 60.Several news outlets across Latin America are reporting that the former World Cup winner suffered a heart attack in his home, just two weeks after an urgent surgery to repair a brain bleed.Maradona’s club career included time at several of the world’s most famous clubs, including Boca Juniors in Argentina, Napoli in Italy and Barcelona in Spain.

Pat Saperstein Deputy Editor“The Truffle Hunters” is a stark contrast to many of this year’s acclaimed documentaries.

Dave McNary Film ReporterHanWay Films has closed multiple international sales for Phillip Noyce’s “Peggy Jo,” with Lily James attached to star as Peggy Jo Tallas, who robbed Texas banks in the early 1990s while posing as a man.A deal with Universal Pictures Content Group includes Benelux, German speaking Europe, Italy, Portugal, Scandinavia, and the UK.

Emiliano De Pablos London-based Taskovski Films has acquired worldwide rights outside Italy to Jacopo Quadri’s “Ultimina,” which world premieres on Saturday Nov. 21 at Amsterdam’s IDFA documentary festival.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentNBCUniversal Global Distribution has closed a deal for all international rights outside Italy, Germany and the U.K. on Italian soccer icon doc “My Name Is Francesco Totti,” an intimate look at the life and career of long-time A.S.

Anna Marie de la Fuente Rome-based international sales and production company TVCO has scooped up sales rights to Argentine comedy “El Padre de Mis Hijos” (“The Father of My Sons”) which TVCO is presenting along with drama “El Silencio del Cazador” (“The Hunter’s Silence”) at the Malaga Spanish screenings (Nov. 17-20).

Dade Hayes Finance EditorAfter conducting tests in Brazil, Italy, India and South Korea earlier this year, Twitter has officially launched a disappearing messaging function called Fleets across its global platform.In a blog post, Twitter Design Director Joshua Harris and Product Manager Sam Haveson wrote that the aim of the new option is to make users less self-conscious.

Andreas Wiseman International EditorAGC International has closed a raft of sales on virtual AFM project Universe’s Most Wanted.Deals have closed with Entertainment Film Distribution in the U.K.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentItaly-based sales outlet TVCO has acquired international rights to Jonas Kærup Hjort’s Danish black comedy “The Penultimate” ahead of its world premiere in competition at the Tallinn Black Night Film Festival.Described as a “Kafkaesque tale” by Tallinn festival, “The Penultimate” follows an insignificant clerk (Joen Højerslev), who gets trapped inside a secluded building facing an endless maze of obstacles.

hereIt is not known what happened between the time Ms Whiteside spoke to her mum on the phone and when she was found in the street.She was taken back to her apartment by paramedics and her landlord.It is understood they stayed with her for around an hour and gave her fluids.Italian police believe Ms Whiteside may have heard dogs barking from the apartment next door and went out onto her balcony to see them. It is thought she held onto a glass partition separating balconies to peer around the

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentMia Threapleton, who is the daughter Kate Winslet and British film director Jim Threapleton, makes her acting debut in Ireland-set chiller “Shadows,” directed by Italy’s Carlo Lavagna and mostly shot in an abandoned hotel in the woods near the village of Howth.“Shadows” premiered last month at the Rome Film Festival’s Alice in the City section.

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentItalian state broadcaster RAI has announced the appointment of writer, journalist and top media industry executive Maria Pia Ammirati as its head of drama, ending the bureaucratic impasse hampering the local industry since her predecessor Eleonora Andreatta left to become vice president of Italian Original series at Netflix in June.RAI’s board has officially announced that Ammirati will replace Andreatta as head of RAI Fiction, the unit that produces

Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentEmmy-winning U.S. director and producer John Maggio is shooting “Milano,” a high-profile doc on the rise of the Italian fashion industry that is expected to feature many of Italy’s most iconic fashion designers.Maggio, who most recently directed HBO doc “The Perfect Weapon,” based on the best-selling book by David E.

Tom Grater International Film ReporterEXCLUSIVE: Rome-based sales company TVCO has boarded world rights on Masha, Anastasia Palchikova’s Russian drama which will screen at Tallinn Black Nights in Estonia and have its market premiere at AFM this month.The film is a co-production between Moscow-based companies 1-2-3 Production, the creators of Netflix original series To The lake, and Mars Media, which has credits include T-34 and Arrythmia.Masha premiered at Kinotavr, the Sochi Open Russian Film

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentMK2 Films has lured key European buyers with “The Good Boss,” starring Javier Bardem.