Italy’s Claudio Giovannesi (‘Piranhas’) Set For Immigration Epic ‘Vita’ Based on Melania Mazzucco Novel (EXCLUSIVE)
Nick Vivarelli International CorrespondentEmerging Italian helmer Claudio Giovannesi, who made a splash in Berlin with his prizewinning Neapolitan teen mob drama “Piranhas,” is set to direct immigration epic “Vita,” set in New York’s early 20th century Little Italy.Based on Melania Mazzucco’s novel by the same title, winner of Italy’s prestigious Strega Prize, “Vita” is set in 1903 when two kids, a girl named Vita and a boy named Diamante, disembark alone in New York. “Vita,” which means life in Italian, is grounded in authentic documentation, based on the true story of Mazzucco’s ancestors.