The first Polish screening of “My Brilliant Friend” to take place at Tofifest
The very first Polish screening of “My Brilliant Friend” series released by HBO, on the big screen, is certainly going to be one of the highlights of the 16th edition of the Tofifest IFF. You can see it on 26th October, in Torun. The series will be released on HBO and HBO GO on 19th November.
“My Brilliant Friend” is a film adaptation of the first of the four books from a best-seller cycle by Elena Ferrante. The series had its international première at the Venice International Film Festival.
When the most important friend in her life seems to have disappeared without a trace, Elena Greco, a 60-year-old woman, starts writing about their long-time friendship. She met Raffaella Cerullo, known as Lila, back in 1950, when they were both in the first year of the primary school. The series is set in the dangerous but fascinating city of Naples, and the story spans 60 years. Elena tries to unveil the mystery behind the disappearance of her genius friend Lila, who is both her confidante and her worst enemy.
The eight-episode series was shot in the Italian city of Caserta. It is an adaptation of the first novel under the same title, which belongs to a four-part best-seller cycle written by Elena Ferrante. Saverio Costanzo (“Private, “The Solitude of Prime Numbers,” “Hungry Hearts” directed the series. It took eight months to finish the casting for the series, and the candidates to participate in the production included nearly 9,000 children and 500 adults.
The cast in the series features both professional and non-professional actors, as well as pupils selected from among local schools. Elisa Del Genio and Ludovica Nasti, both of them debutants, play the roles of young Elena and Lila. In the successive episodes, two teenagers will replace the two young actors, i.e. Margherita Mazzucco, who will play the teenage Elena, and Gaia Girace, in the role of Lila of the same age. It is estimated that more than 150 actors and 5,000 extras have been cast in “My Brilliant Friend.”
In an effort to reconstruct the vicinity that plays a very symbolic role in the series, as realistically as possible, 150 people spent over 100 days to build 215 square metres of film scenery. They built façades for 14 residential buildings, 5 interiors of apartments, a mock-up of the church, and a tunnel. Costume designers have collected 1,500 dresses of which many have been designed specifically for the series.
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