L'Estranea, the new horror thriller written and directed by Paolo Strippoli (Piove, La valle dei sorrisi), continues its international festival run ahead of its Italian theatrical release on October 8 through 01 Distribution. Following its competition premiere at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, the film also earned recognition at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it was named First Runner-Up for the People's Choice Midnight Madness Award presented by Rogers, an award voted on by festival audiences.
L'Estranea placed second behind Matthew Rankin's Ladies and Gentlemen, Brian Mulroney and ahead of SABU's Arrested Memory. The result marks a first for an Italian film in the history of TIFF's Midnight Madness awards.
After Venice and Toronto, L'Estranea will also compete at the Busan International Film Festival in the World Cinema section. Its October 9 screening sold out in less than an hour despite the Open Cinema offering more than 3,000 seats. The film has also been selected for several other international festivals, including Austin, Beyond LA, SLASH, Rio de Janeiro, Ghent, Sitges, and Chicago.
Starring Jasmine Trinca, Romana Maggiora Vergano, Adriano Giannini, and Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, L'Estranea follows a woman who unexpectedly arrives at her daughter's home to reveal a dark family secret connected to a pact made years earlier with a mysterious stranger. The consequences of that agreement, buried for years, suddenly begin to resurface.
L'Estranea is produced by Marina Marzotto and Mattia Oddone for Propaganda Italia, with Rai Cinema and Dinamo Film, in co-production with Kazak Productions and Tarantula Film.
The screenplay was written by Paolo Strippoli and Salvatore de Chirico. Cinematography is by Cristiano Di Nicola, while the original score is composed by Robin Coudert, also known as ROB.
