Cinema Paradiso won hearts with the heartfelt story of the boy who navigates his love for cinema and juggles his personal life in post-World War II Italy. Now, more than three decades later, Cinema Paradiso is being adapted as a television miniseries, as an expansion of the original film. And interestingly, the film’s director, Giuseppe Tornatore, is returning to develop the six-episode venture.
As per an exclusive conversation between Italy-based producer Marco Belardi and Variety, the new series will be titled, Paradiso. The series will be produced under Belardi’s Bamboo Productions, a venture he started this February. Variety also reported that Marco Belardi is also eyeing a U.S.-based streaming service provider to come on board for its international distribution.
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Cinema Paradiso was the most acclaimed film of the year 1988. It went on to win Special Jury Prize at Cannes Film Festival. Eventually, it won Best Foreign Language film at the 1990 Academy Awards. The film was notably famous for the iconic performance by a young Salvatore Cascio, who won BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor for the film. Today, Cinema Paradiso is considered an auteurist film, often cited as a source of study, research, and analysis by film scholars and international filmmakers.
What to Expect from the Series, Paradiso?
According to Belardi, Paradiso will remain faithful to the film’s premise and setting, thus, placing the story in the same post-WWII era. However, the series will expand the narrative through different characters living in Toto’s Sicilian village, Giancaldo.
The 1988 film tells the story of Salvatore Di Vita’s journey to fulfill his aspirations of becoming a filmmaker. The film chronicles the lead character’s life across three different periods and inspirationally captures his struggles and sacrifices. The film is well remembered for the emotional arcs of its characters, all of whom empower nostalgia, and for the pure depiction of film enthusiasts. The film’s World War II set-up further signifies the societal changes that the catastrophic war brought to Italy.
[Paradiso] will be the same story of the film but in expanded form with various different narrative strands. [The series will include] elements like the strength of a mother, the solidarity of a friend, sex as a taboo, forced relocations, eloping, and marked social differences.
Belardi further stated that the backstories of several main characters from the film would also be spun out in the series. He further confirmed that Tornatore is developing the screenplay for the pilot. Paradiso is expected to come out in 2023.
It’s unclear which U.S.-based streaming platform will handle its global distribution; however, some bets could be placed on Netflix. It’s because Bamboo Productions have signed a multi-picture deal with Netflix to produce unspecified Italian original movies for the platform. Marco Belardi also wants to create a documentary based on the inception and making of the original 1988 movie, as well as its creative production. The project is yet to be greenlit.
Cinema Paradiso reflects sheer film enthusiasm intertwined with the significance of relationships and emotional adherence. To see these themes come on-screen in this heavily changed societal era will be interesting.
