RAI Cinema International Distribution has secured world distribution rights to “The Fire Within You,” a dark tragicomedy directed by Edoardo De Angelis. The film will compete in the Venice Film Festival later this year.
De Angelis, a Naples-born director, previously premiered the conjoined twins drama “Indivisible” at Venice in 2016 and opened the festival in 2023 with the anti-war epic “Comandante.” He also helmed the Netflix adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s “The Lying Life of Adults.” The new film represents a more intimate project, centering on the relationship between a Neapolitan mother and her adult son.
The story draws from Antonio Franchini’s autobiographical novel of the same name. According to the film’s synopsis, the narrative follows Antonio, who fled Naples years earlier to build a successful life and family in Milan, only to be confronted by his mother Angela during a Christmas visit. Angela is characterized as a woman of contradictions—irresistible yet confrontational, virtuous yet deeply flawed. What begins as a holiday dinner evolves into an emotional confrontation that dredges up years of misunderstandings and unresolved wounds.
De Angelis discussed his attraction to the material, noting his fascination with subverting the traditional archetype of the nurturing Italian mother. In his interpretation, the character rejects conventional expectations, with her cooking potentially harmful to her family rather than nourishing. The director emphasized the character’s paradoxical nature: her presence is simultaneously necessary and destructive, described metaphorically as an inextinguishable fire that can both sustain and consume those around her.
The production was handled by Picomedia, part of the Asacha Media Group and Fremantle, in collaboration with RAI Cinema. De Angelis praised his work with actress Vanessa Scalera, describing their collaboration as rewarding and noting the depth she brought to understanding the character’s motivations and emotional intensity.
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