U.S. specialty distributor Shadow Distribution has taken North American rights to Italian director Giorgio Diritti’s ethnic cleansing drama “Lubo,” toplining Franz Rogowski, from Italy’s True Colours.
“Lubo,” which launched from the 2023 Venice Film Festival, features Rogowski (“Passages”) playing a young man who belongs to a group of Yenish nomads, and in 1939 is forced to serve in the Swiss military under threat from the Nazi army.
Upon hearing that his children, due to their ethnicity, have been taken away by Swiss authorities — who also killed his wife while she opposed them — Lubo defects from the army and spends the next 30 years searching for his kids.
Italy’s Valentina Bellé, known for the Disney+ series “The Good Mothers” and a European Shooting Star at this year’s Berlinale, also stars in the drama as a young woman named Margherita with whom Lubo has an affair.
“It is an honor and a pleasure to take on this magnificent film for North America,” Shadow’s president, Ken Eisen, said in a statement. “We were struck by ‘Lubo’s’ depth and ambition and, of course, transfixed by the central performance of Franz Rogowski.”
The North American deal follows previous sales made by True Colours on “Lubo” to a dozen territories including Spain (Filmin), Brazil (Imovision), Portugal (Outsider) and Taiwan (Swallow Wings).
“Lubo” is a co-production between Italy’s Indiana Production, Arancia Film, RAI Cinema and the Swiss company Hugo Films.
Additional deals recently closed by True Colours include Venice opener “Comandante,” by Edoardo De Angelis, securing distribution in Greece with Weirdwave and in Czech Republic and Slovakia with Foxx Media Group, following the film’s recent sale in North America to Uncork’d Entertainment and previous deals to more than 20 territories. Laura Luchetti’s Locarno title “The Beautiful Summer” has gone to Outplay for France; Leonardo D’Agostini’s noir “A Dark Story,” starring Laetitia Casta, sold to Alfa Pictures in Spain; and Lyda Patitucci’s action/thriller “Like Sheep Among Wolves” went to HBO Eastern Europe.
