‘Io Capitano’: Italy’s Oscar Submission Turns The Migrant Gaze On Its Head & Could Make A Star Of Seydou Sarr

deadline.com:

Welcome to Global Breakouts, Deadline’s fortnightly strand in which we shine a spotlight on the TV shows and films killing it in their local territories.

The industry is as globalized as it’s ever been, but breakout hits are appearing in pockets of the world all the time and it can be hard to keep track… So, we’re going to do the hard work for you. This week we’re featuring Matteo Garrone’s gritty Venice Silver Lion-winning migrant drama, Io Capitano.

Italy’s submission for the Best International Feature Film Oscar, it boasts a stunning performance from new talent Seydou Sarr and is drawing audiences in its home country ahead of international rollout later this year. Name: Io Capitano Country: ItalyProducers: Archimede, Tarantula, Rai Cinema, Pathé FilmsDistributor: Pathé FilmsFor fans of: Lion, Slumdog Millionaire, Fire at Sea Veteran Italian filmmaker Matteo Garrone’s stock in trade has traditionally been genre of all stripes: gangster realism (Gomorrah, Dogman), satirical comedy (Reality) and baroque fantasy (Tale of Tales).

With Io Capitano, Garrone has fashioned a blisteringly topical drama, that, as Deadline’s Damon Wise wrote in his review, “might be his most traditional, and best, yet.” Io Capitano tracks the epic journey of Seydou (Sarr) and Moussa (Moustapha Fall), two young men who leave Dakar to make their way across Africa to a dream called Europe.