Anna Magnani Biopic ‘Anna’ in Development at Indiana Production
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Loading... - Avril Moulin
- 03 Dec 2024
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A biopic dedicated to the legendary Italian actress Anna Magnani, known for her iconic roles in films such as Rome, Open City and The Rose Tattoo, is currently in development at Indiana Production, the Milan and Rome-based company behind Netflix’s upcoming period drama The Leopard.
Entitled Anna, the film will be directed by Alessio Cremonini (On My Skin), who is co-writing the screenplay with Olivia Magnani, the granddaughter of the late actress and daughter of her only son, Luca Magnani. The biopic will focus on a pivotal period in Magnani's life during the late 1950s and early 1960s, highlighting her evolution as a mother while she embraced a new role in Pier Paolo Pasolini’s 1962 drama Mamma Roma.
Filming for Anna is set to begin in 2025, with casting currently in the early stages for the role of Magnani and other notable figures from Italy’s film and artistic circles who influenced her life.
Anna Magnani first gained fame in Roberto Rossellini’s neo-realist classic Rome, Open City (1945) and became one of Italy’s most significant post-WWII actresses. She collaborated with Rossellini on several projects, including L’Amore: The Human Voice and The Miracle, and achieved further acclaim in the early 1950s with films like Luchino Visconti’s Bellissima and Jean Renoir’s The Golden Coach.
Her Hollywood career included winning an Oscar for her performance in The Rose Tattoo (1955), based on a play by Tennessee Williams, and earning another nomination for her role in George Cukor’s Wild Is The Wind (1957). Magnani also starred alongside Marlon Brando in The Fugitive Kind (1960) before returning to Italy to take on the role of a determined mother in Mamma Roma.
Magnani was known for her free-spirited nature and her commitment to raising her son, Luca, on her own after separating from his father before his birth in 1942. She challenged societal norms regarding female roles, appearances, and aging, famously stating, “As I get older, I don’t want to look younger, I want to look happier.”
In a statement, Indiana Production described the film as “a journey through time without nostalgia, exploring what it means to be a modern actress and artist: an anti-diva, autonomous, irreverent. Always close to her audience.”
Cremonini emphasized Magnani's impact on cinema, stating, “Anna Magnani was not just an actress but a force of nature who rewrote the rules of cinema and female representation on the big screen. With this film, we want to portray her free and thoroughly modern soul.”
Olivia Magnani will draw from her family’s extensive personal archives for the project, which has the full support of her father, Luca. She expressed the challenge of interpreting the essence of her grandmother, describing her as “a complex, deeply mysterious, and revolutionary actress, who helped broaden the horizons of men and women long before feminism.”
Fabrizio Donvito, co-head of Indiana Production and lead producer on the project, highlighted the aim to capture the life of “a woman who was extraordinary for her time,” noting her independence and exceptional career.
Recent feature film credits for Indiana Production include Marko Polo by Elisa Fuksas, Romeo è Giuletta by Giovanni Veronesi, and Lubo by Giorgio Diritti. While the company has collaborated with various platforms on productions like The Leopard, Donvito emphasized the ambition to create a significant cinematic experience with Anna, stating, “Anna Magnani must be in the cinema, on the big screen, where she grew up.”
