Italy’s Fandango Sales has taken international distribution rights to quirky comedy “Volare” about the fear of flying that marks the directorial debut of actor Margherita Buy.
Buy is known internationally for frequent roles in Nanni Moretti movies, most recently in “A Brighter Tomorrow” that launched from Cannes.
Her smart concept movie is being lead-produced by Simone Gattoni for Kavac Film, the company founded by veteran auteur Marco Bellocchio.
Buy – who in “Tomorrow” played Paola, partner and producer of Moretti’s self-centered alter ego Giovanni – also stars in “Volare” as a talented actress named AnnaBì who lands a role in a movie by a hot Korean helmer that would allow her to break out internationally. She is forced to turn it down owing to her aerophobia, as extreme fear of flying in an airplane is known.
AnnaBì subsequently has to face the same problem when her daughter gets into a U.S. college. But this time she decides to confront her fear and joins a special group course to overcome aerophobia given by a seasoned airline pilot.
Italy’s national airline ITA Airways, formerly known as Alitalia, is part of the “Volare” production team.
“When you face your fears and anxieties, you can find yourself in comical situations in an attempt to defeat them. Or the anxiety can take on a surreal dimension,” said Buy in her director’s statement.
“The idea I had was to tell the comedy part, without losing the realism of the moments of anxiety in which one is left alone with oneself,” Buy added. The actor-turned-director – who co-wrote the “Volare” screenplay with Doriana Leondeff (“Days and Clouds”) and Antonio Leotti – also noted that “The challenge is to create a connection between the audience and the assorted ‘pathological’ group that could become a stimulus for everyone to face their fears and anxieties with positivity.”
Besides Buy, the film’s ensemble cast also comprises Anna Bonaiuto, Giulia Michelini, Euridice Auxen, Francesco Colella, and Tunisia’s Ahmed Hafiene.
“Volare” is co-produced by Kavac Film, IBC Movie, Maremosso, RAI Cinema, and Tenderstories in collaboration with ITA Airways.
