Heads or Tails?, supported by Regione Toscana, is in the Un Certain Regard section
There is also a bit of Tuscany in the official selection of the 78th Cannes Film Festival scheduled from 13 to 24 May. Heads or Tails?, the new film by Italian-American directors Alessio Rigo de Righi and Matteo Zoppis, supported by the Regione Toscana’s Bando Cinema (2023), has been selected in the Un Certain Regard section.
Synopsis
At the beginning of the 20th century, Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show arrived in Rome to sell the legend of the American frontier to Italians by way of rifle fire and cowboy performances. The film sees Rosa, the young wife of the local squire, falling in love with Santino, the buttero who wins the cowboy contest. When her husband is murdered, Rosa and Santino run away together, but justice, as ever, goes to the highest bidder and a hefty reward is placed on Santino’s head. With Buffalo Bill on their heels, Rosa dreams of America – the real America as opposed to the buffalo-heavy version sold on billboards, but her dream ultimately clashes with reality because fate wins out, as with any respectable western ballad.
Locations
The filming took place around Arezzo and Massa Carrara for two weeks in 2024 . Among the locations chosen for the setting of some scenes were the Marena Farm in Bibbiena, the San Giuliano station in Arezzo, the Renara torrent in Massa.
The directors
De Righi and Zoppis – whose films tend to focus on traditional folklore and legends and on the mechanics of the tradition of oral storytelling – first began their collaboration with the short documentary Belva Nera and the multi-award-winning documentary Il Solengo which was selected in the IFFR’s Bright Future section.
Cast & Credits
Heads or Tails? was co-produced by Italy and the USA by way of Ring Film and Cinema Inutile (USA) together with RAI Cinema, in association with Andromeda Film and Cinemaundici, and in collaboration with Volos Films Italia. World sales are entrusted to RAI Cinema International Distribution while the film will be released in Italian cinemas next fall and distribuited by 01 Distribution.
