The deal
FilmClub Distribuzione, part of Minerva Pictures, has acquired Italian rights to Irene Dionisio’s second narrative feature, IDDA, after its world premiere in the Platform section at the Toronto Film Festival. The deal, announced Sunday, was negotiated by Andrea Curti for FilmClub and Fulvio Firrito for Rai Cinema International Distribution, which continues to handle worldwide sales.
The film stars Tecla Insolia and Romana Maggiora Vergano as Adele and Sofia, childhood friends now in their thirties whose bond is tested during a journey through the volcanic landscape of Sicily’s Mount Etna.
Why the timing matters
Platform is a curated, auteur-facing Toronto section that buyers use as a high-signal screening room. Closing the Italian territory early in the market removes one major European market from the available package and suggests FilmClub wanted to secure the title before further festival exposure and awards chatter raised the asking price.
Andrea Curti, CEO and head of acquisitions at FilmClub, described it as bringing “one of the most awaited titles of the season” to Italian audiences, pointing to Dionisio, producer Giovanni Pompili and the cast as part of the attraction.
Dionisio’s own statement frames the release as a bridge to cinemas and homes, with a thematic focus on friendship, change, belonging and difficult transitions. Those themes matter for local campaigns: they give a territory distributor a clear emotional hook before any box office number exists.
What ScreenStat readers should track
- Cast value: Insolia and Vergano are drawing attention as contemporary Italian talent; their marketability supports domestic and festival promotion.
- Sales momentum: With Italy closed, the next test is whether further territories sell before a broader festival run raises competition.
- Release planning: Watch how FilmClub dates the Italian theatrical release and whether it pushes a traditional cinema-first window.
- Campaign asset: The Mount Etna setting is a strong visual hook for trailers, posters and social-first creative.
Context for specialty buyers
Dionisio’s background spans documentary and narrative work; her first narrative feature, Pawn Street, premiered at Venice in 2017. IDDA was co-written with Marco Borromei. The film’s producers are Giovanni Pompili, Isabella Weber, Filippo Montalto, Francesco Montalto, Francesco Grisi, Giorgia Priolo and Antonio Miyakawa.
For ScreenStat’s audience, this is a useful early case in festival-to-market selling. The package is being positioned on directorial voice, performer recognition, and the specificity of the Etna landscape, rather than on completed box office data. That framing will likely shape how the international sales campaign communicates value to remaining territories.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
