Steven Spielberg to film period feature in Italy

Steven Spielberg is scheduled to film his next feature The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara on location in Italy early next year.

Author: Nick Goundry

Published: 08 Sep 2016

Steven Spielberg

Steven Spielberg is scheduled to film his next feature The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara on location in Italy early next year.

The film is set in the late 1850s and tells the story of a young Jewish boy who is forcibly removed from his family and raised as a Christian after being secretly baptised.

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Larger issues come into play over the course of the story including the Pope's protection of the child and the eventual reunification of Italy.

Filming will reunite Spielberg with actor Mark Rylance, who will play Pope Pius IX, and the cast also includes Oscar Isaac.

Amblin Partners – formerly DreamWorks Studios – will work with The Leone Film Group as a production partner. The Leone Group recently made a deal with Cinecitta Studios to bring more international productions to Italy.

“We are truly honoured and proud to announce the opportunity to work with Steven Spielberg who has decided to tell this moving Italian story and we thank him for opening the doors for us to his cinematic world,” said Andrea and Raffaella Leone.

Italy recently boosted its formal filming incentive support and Timur Bekmambetov’s production of Ben-Hur swiftly became the first big-budget international film in years to shoot entirely in the country.

Spielberg will move onto The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara after finishing filming on sci-fi Ready Player One, which is currently shooting in the UK.

For more on filming in Italy see our production guide.

Image: DreamWorks LLC

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