Italian director Cristiano Bortone helms the first Italy-China co-production, "Coffee." (Photo : www.listal.com)
The film "Coffee," helmed by Italian director Cristiano Bortone, will serve as the first Italy-China co-production after the two countries signed an agreement in 2014.
The movie, which is set in Italy, Belgium and China, has "three tonalities of taste," Bortone ("Red Like the Sky") remarked.
"There is bitter, sour, and fruity. Each of the three stories in the movie reflects one of these three tonalities," he added. "It's sort of like 'Babel.' Three destinies linked to coffee intertwined in different parts of an increasingly globalized world."
The three tales are set in Trieste, Italy's capital of coffee production; in China's increasingly consumer-driven and ecologically endangered society; and in Belgium, where racial tensions thrive.
The film started shooting in August in Northern Italy.
Its producers include Bortone's Orisa shingle with RAI Cinema, Savage Film and China's Road Pictures.
"Coffee" also receives backing from Italy's Business Location South Tyrol.
The power cast of the co-production includes Italian actors Ennio Fantastichini, Miriam Dalmazio, and Dario Aita; Iranian Babak Karimi; and Chinese stars Xiaodong Guo, Yuqi Zhang, Qi Xi and Tongsheng Han.
The script of the film was a product of the collaborative effort among European and Chinese writers. It also got a greenlight from Chinese censors.
"For the first time I had to confront myself with Chinese censors and all the remarks and indications made by the bureau of the Chinese co-production office. We are like guinea pigs," Bortone enthused.
Bortone, a USC and NYU alumnus with close connections to China, is the founder of the Bridging the Dragon initiative that aims to enhance and strengthen the ties between European and Chinese film sectors.
