"Made in Italy" cinema on international screens in the first months of 2025
by Giorgia Preda

2025 opens with a rich calendar of releases of Italian films and co-productions on the international scene.

We cannot begin this journey without mentioning "C’è ancora domani/"There’s still tomorrow", the dramedy directed by and starring Paola Cortellesi which, now sold in over 120 countries, continues its worldwide dissemination after having conquered the big screen in Hungary, Hong Kong and the Czech Republic at the beginning of 2025: in fact, it will be released on March 7 in the United States, where it will be distributed by Greenwich Entertainment, and on the 8th in China.

Another female-led film - focused on the condition of women, not in a big city, but in a small Alpine village at the end of the Second World War - is "Vermiglio" by Maura Delpero, winner of the Silver Lion in Venice, which is gradually reaching new international markets.

The film has already debuted in the United Kingdom and Italian-speaking Switzerland. It will then reach Serbia and Spain in February and, in March Lithuania, Romania, Finland, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and French-speaking Switzerland. In April it will be in Norway and Russia, in June in Germany and in German-speaking Switzerland.

Among the distributors who have acquired its rights is Moving Turtle, active in North Africa and the Middle East, in countries such as Tunisia, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman, which guarantees the film a distribution in territories usually less frequented by European cinema.

In the panorama of Italian films on the international screens, "Un mondo a parte"/"A world apart" by Riccardo Milani also stands out, which is about to be released in German and Austrian cinemas. It will then land in Italian-speaking Switzerland and then arrive in Poland, Israel, Australia and Brazil. In addition, its rights have been sold in the United States and 25 other countries, a sign of strong global interest in this intense and engaging comedy, filmed in the Abruzzo National Park.

Among the most anticipated titles of the coming months is "Diamanti"/"Diamonds" by Ferzan Özpetek, which has already found distribution in around 40 countries. The film, shot entirely in Rome, will be released in April in Portugal, under the aegis of Outsider Films, and in Italian- and French-speaking Switzerland, thanks to Morandini Film Distribution. For distribution in Latin America, the film can count on CDI Films, which will bring it to Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Brazil, Peru and Chile, thus expanding its international audience.

Great exposure on the international scene also for "Parthenope" by Paolo Sorrentino, which arrived in December 2024 in Serbia, Sweden, Spain, Denmark, Australia, Hungary, Estonia, Lithuania, Turkey and Russia. In January it was released in the Slovak Republic, Norway, Croatia and the Czech Republic. This new journey of the Neapolitan director in his city is destined to continue in 2025, with releases scheduled for February in Ukraine, the United States, Romania, Latvia, Canada, Finland, Portugal and the Netherlands.

March will see it in French- and German-speaking Switzerland, in France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Poland, Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Uruguay, Chile, Argentina, Mexico and Venezuela. Then, between April and May, the film will reach Austria, Germany, Ireland and the United Kingdom.

During 2025, the international distribution of the film "Queer", directed by Luca Guadagnino and starring Daniel Craig, will continue, having already been released in December in Latin American countries, from Argentina to Mexico, and in several English-speaking countries, including Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom.

After the January releases in Central America as well as in Germany, Spain, Greece and the Netherlands, the film is scheduled for distribution in February in Australia, German- and French-speaking Switzerland, Luxembourg, Belgium, France and Slovenia.

In March it will be in Northern and Eastern Europe: it will arrive in the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Sweden, Serbia, Romania, Latvia, Croatia and Poland. In April and May it will be the turn of Denmark, Ukraine, Hungary, Finland, New Zealand, Singapore and Japan.

Among the most evocative releases of 2025 we find "Itaca -Il ritorno"/" The Return", directed by Uberto Pasolini, which tells the story of the arrival of Odysseus in Ithaca, played by Ralph Fiennes. After being screened in several theatres around the world, including those in the United States, Saudi Arabia, Russia, the Baltics and Turkey, the film will be released in March in Australia, New Zealand and the Netherlands. In April it will arrive in the United Kingdom and Ireland, bringing an epic reinterpretation of the classical myth to the big screen.

The international circulation of "Maria", the co-production that retraces the last days of Callas, with a masterful performance by Angelina Jolie, continues.

After landing in Romania at the end of December, the film reached Hungary, Czech Republic, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark, Australia and New Zealand at the beginning of 2025.

February sees it in France, Benelux, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Spain, Turkey, Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia, as well as Hong Kong and Singapore. The American continent also shows interest in "Maria", which will be released in Mexico, Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia and Peru, after being in Brazil and Chile. In March it is expected in the Baltic States, distributed by Acme.

The co-production "William Tell", a biography set in 14th century Switzerland, arrived in January in Croatia (distributed by Blitz Films), Ireland and the United Kingdom. In February it will be in New Zealand thanks to Rialto Distribution, then in the Arabian Peninsula, in Iraq and Turkey, as well as in Greece and the Netherlands.

The film, directed by Nick Hamm, is expected in March in several Eastern European countries, from the Czech Republic to Lithuania, from Romania to Latvia, and in Scandinavia, where it will be distributed by SF Studios.

Another co-production of great interest is "Grand Tour", a film by Portuguese director Miguel Gomes, awarded at Cannes 2024 for best director. Released between the end of 2024 and the beginning of 2025 in France, Belgium, Greece, it is expected in February in Australia, Poland and Russia, while in March it will be in the Netherlands, Spain, Romania, Ireland, the United Kingdom and Latin America (Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Mexico, Uruguay, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru and Paraguay) as well as in the United States. At the beginning of April it will also be distributed in New Zealand, further expanding its international audience.

The international circulation of Italian cinema therefore shows that it is linked not only to the quality and richness of the expressive forms and themes covered, but also to the ability to create international relations both on the production level - the role of co-productions is in fact relevant - and on the distribution level, which are confirmed as determining factors.