Expired December 28, 2020 4:45 AM
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Based on the novel of the same name by author and anthropologist Giulio Angioni, the fifth feature from Salvatore Mereu (PRETTY BUTTERFLIES) is a powerful, slow-burn thriller set in the Sardinian countryside in the late 1990s. Following a devasting fire that has destroyed his agritourism farmhouse "Assandira" and killed his son Mario (Marco Zucca), former shepherd Costantino Saru (author and actor Gavino Ledda, PADRE PADRONE) recounts the events that preceded the suspicious blaze to the inspector assigned to the case (Corrado Giannetti, PIOVE DESERTO). Told in flashback, the mystery unfolds to reveal how Mario and his German wife Grete (Anna König, TV's DARK) took over the abandoned Saru family farmhouse to turn it into a destination for European tourists wanting an "authentic" experience living among Sardinian shepherds. Initially resistant, Costantino finally relented, and the business became a big success, boosting the fragile local economy. But lurking beneath outward prosperity, deep fissures lie between father and son, nature and its commodification and cultural heritage and its appropriation. ASSANDIRA is a rural neo-noir, a psychological thriller, a classic detective story and an astute examination of tradition and modernity, all rolled into one. Winner, FEDIC Award – Special Mention, 2020 Venice Film Festival.


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  • Year
    2020
  • Runtime
    128 minutes
  • Language
    English, Italian, Sardinian, German
  • Country
    Italy
  • Premiere
    U.S.
  • Rating
    NOT RATED
  • Note
    With English subtitles.
  • Director
    Salvatore Mereu
  • Screenwriter
    Salvatore Mereu, from the novel by Giulio Angioni
  • Producer
    Salvatore Mereu, Elisabetta Soddu
  • Cast
    Gavino Ledda, Corrado Giannetti, Marco Zucca, Anna König