Romance, in terms of genre, is a first for the idiosyncratic director who has often constructed his films around his own persona, appearing as the central character. Starting with his 1976 Super-8 debut “Io Sono un’Autarchico” and its follow-up, “Ecce Bombo,” which humorously captured the discontent gripping Italy in the bleak 1970s, and, of course, the autobiografical “Caro Diario,” 1994, which marked his international breakthrough. Moretti subsequent standout works comprise his 2001 Palm d’Or winning bereavement drama “The Son’s Room,” the scathing 2006 Silvio Berlusconi satire “The Caiman” and “We Have a Pope” in which he depicted a Pontiff’s crisis of faith.
“It Will Happen Tonight” is loosely based on the short story collection “Hungry Heart” (Lev Raev) by Israeli writer Eshkol Nevo. Moretti, in his director’s statement, called them “Stories about love, encounters and partings. But also about parents and their grown-up children. And all those bonds that accompany us – more or less quietly – throughout our lives.”
“It’s been hugely emotional to be back working with him,” said Trinca, who was on the Cannes jury in 2023. “Nanni is the person who forged my idea of cinema. Which is not about being in front of camera with an affectation or a pose.”
The film’s cast also comprises Angela Finocchiaro, Elena Lietti, Antonio De Matteo, Andrea Lattanzi, Hippolyte Girardot, Pietro Ragusa, and Paolo Sassanelli.
Moretti most recently competed in Cannes in 2023 with high-concept meta-comedy “A Brighter Tomorrow,” in which he stars as a Roman director who is shooting a period piece set in Rome in 1956.
Sacher Film and Fandango produced “It Will Happen Tonight” in collaboration with RAI Cinema.
