presents The Dinner A film by Ivano De Matteo Ivano De Matteo beautifully adapts Herman Koch s best-seller with an all-star Italian cast. The Hollywood Reporter Terrific with barely a missed beat. -Variety Italy/ 2014 / Drama / Italian with English Subtitles 92 min / 2.35:1 / Stereo and 5.1 Surround Sound Film Movement Press Contact: Genevieve Villaflor tel: (212) 941-7744 x215 genevieve@filmmovement.com Film Movement Theatrical: Clemence Taillandier tel: (212) 941-7744 x301 theatrical@filmmovement.com Film Movement Non-Theatrical & Festivals: Maxwell Wolkin tel: (212) 941-7744 x211 maxwell@filmmovement.com
Select Press for THE DINNER Viewers will also want to join the table at Ivano De Matteo s The Dinner.this Venice Film Festival prize-winner is another reminder that bourgeois families, however financially stable and established, aren t immune to violence and sociopathic behavior. Doris Toumarkine, Film Journal Casting plays to the strengths of all actors with barely a missed beat.gassman is a standout in the tampeddown role of Massimo.The film s skilled construction and visuals are coolly classical, allowing emotions to creep up rather than wearing them ostentatiously. Jay Weissberg, Variety The beautifully detailed screenplay, written by Valentina Ferlan and Ivano De Matteo, deviates significantly from the novel in terms of plot and characters but explores very similar themes.what really matters is how everyone reacts to and deals with the various revelations and accusations, as the film looks at themes such as senseless violence, alienation, education and responsibility through the prism of six very different characters Production and costume design beautifully work together to visually suggest the different personalities and shifting allegiances. Boyd van Hoeij, The Hollywood Reporter I m a big fan of Koch s book, so I was surprised and delighted to find a movie that actually improved it.de Matteo did a great job of adding humor and humanity to Koch s dark story, and this one is not to be missed. I Love Italian Movies The strength of De Matteo s film is in the question mark it raises: a question that every parent could ask him or herself, even though there is no real response to it. And you? What would you do in their shoes? Vittoria Scarpa, Cineuropa A beautiful, soulful performance in which we saw a side of [Alessandro] Gassman we rarely see, and for this, I applaud the director, Ivano De Matteo. Italian Cinema and Art Today www.filmmovement.com 2
FULL SYNOPSIS Based on Herman Koch s New York Times bestselling novel, this taut morality play chronicles the downward spiral of a bourgeois family unhinging at its foundation. Massimo and Paolo are brothers of opposing moral character Massimo is an overconfident lawyer and Paolo, an altruistic pediatrician. Despite their conflicting lifestyles, the brothers and their wives meet for a traditional monthly dinner at a luxurious restaurant, sharing polite conversation centered-around food and wine and occasionally politics. This fragile balancing act of respectability and class is shattered when a local news outlet releases CCTV footage of their children performing a grisly act of violence. Massimo and Paolo are forced to decide whether or not to turn their children in to the authorities, and, in the process, they discover how little they truly know about each other. As tensions reach a boiling point within the family, all sides begin to turn against one other, and the skewed priorities of their privileged lives are revealed when tragedy strikes again. SHORT SYNOPSIS Based on Herman Koch s New York Times bestselling novel, this taut morality play chronicles the downward spiral of a bourgeois family unhinging at its foundation after a grisly act of violence. As the conflicting morals of the family's patriarchs cause all sides to turn against one another, the skewed priorities of their privileged lives cause tragedy to strike again. LOGLINE Based on Herman Koch's New York Times bestselling novel, this taut morality play chronicles the downward spiral of a bourgeois family unhinging at its foundation after a grisly act of violence. ASSETS Official US Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enthtrocehs&feature=youtu.be Downloadable hi-res images: http://www.filmmovement.com/filmcatalog/index.asp?merchandiseid=409 www.filmmovement.com 3
CREDITS CAST Massimo Clara Paolo Sofia Benedetta Michele Giovanna Restaurant Maitre Teacher Restaurant Waitress Sandra Massimo s Secretary Policeman Stefano Stefano s father Little Girl Alessandro Gassmann Giovanna Mezzogiorno Luigi Lo Cascio Barbora Bobulova Rosabell Laurenti Sellers Jacopo Olmo Antinori Lidia Vitale Antonio Salines Roberto Accornero Sharon Alessandri Giada Fradeani Cristina Puccinelli Antonio Grosso Lupo De Matteo Adamo Dionisi Melinda De Matteo CREW Director Screenwriters Cinematography Editing Original Soundtrack Set Design Costume Design Live Sound Recording Casting Director General Organizer Executive Producer Produced By Ivano De Matteo Ivano De Matteo Valentina Ferlan Vittorio Omodei Zorini Consuelo Catucci Francesco Cerasi Edizioni Curci Francesco Frigeri Valentina Taviani Antongiorgio Sabia Pino Pellegrino (U.I.C.D) Luciano Lucchi Francesca Di Donna Cotty Chubb Marco Poccioni Marco Valsania www.filmmovement.com 4
IVANO DE MATTEO WRITER/DIRECTOR Ivano De Matteo was born in Rome and started his artistic career in 1990, graduating from a theatre laboratory directed by Perla Peragallo called Il Mulino di Fiora. As an actor, director, and documentary-maker who is constantly seeking a personal language De Matteo ranges between theatre and television. He founded the Il Cantiere company in 1993 with author and screenwriter Valentina Ferlan and in 2005, founded a production company called UTOPIA FILM. SELECTED FILMOGRAPHY 2012 Gli Equilibristi 2009 Niente Di Personale 2008 La Bella Gente 2008 Articolo 10 (short) 2007 Pillole Di Bisogni (short) 2002 Ultimo Stadio 2000 Mentalita Ultras (documentary) 1999 Prigionieri Di Una Fede (documentary) DIRECTOR S STATEMENT I have always been fascinated by families seen as miniature reproductions of the society that surrounds them. I come from one of them a large family which seduced me with its great contradictions. With La Bella Gente and then Gli Equilibristi I wanted to examine what happens when an external element spoils the tranquil and safe life of a very normal, and seemingly happy, nucleus. With The Dinner I wanted to take it a step further, by trying to show what happens when the explosion comes from within. Filmmaker Ivano De Matteo The novel The Dinner by Herman Koch had fascinated me for the bluntness, frankness, and truthfulness with which it handles themes and situations. I wanted to shoot a film that dealt with violence the hidden kind kept at bay but which can explode by chance, by mistake, in any one of us. When this happens characters change and roles reverse. Being a father, I asked myself, up until what point can we or should we ignore our conscience to protect our happiness? The heart s reasons are often in conflict with justice. And there is a very deep difference between what we are and the image of ourselves that we create day by day. www.filmmovement.com 5
FESTIVALS AND AWARDS OFFICIAL SELECTION: Venice Film Festival 2014 Venice Days Festival du Film d'amour de Mons 2015 - International Competition AWARDS: 2015 Donatello Awards: Ivano De Matteo (director), Nominated for David of the Youth 2014 FICE - Federazione Italiana Cinema d'essai: Barbora Bobulova, Won for Best Actress 2014 Venice Film Festival: Won, Pasinetti Award - Special Mention to Director Ivano De Matteo 2014 Venice Film Festival: Won, Label Europa Cinemas to Director Ivano De Matteo 2014 Venice Film Festival: Won, Cinecibo Award to Director Ivano De Matteo 2014 Venice Film Festival: Won, AKAI International Film Fest Award for Best Actor to Jacopo Olmo Antinori 2014 Venice Film Festival: Nominated, Venezia Classici Award / Venice Days Award to Ivano De Matteo About Film Movement Launched in 2002, Film Movement is a full-service North American distributor of award-winning independent and foreign films, based in New York City. Film Movement has released more than 250 feature films and shorts from 50 countries on six continents, including top prize winners from Sundance, Cannes, Venice, Toronto, Berlin, Tribeca and other prestigious festivals. Film Movement releases its films through numerous distribution channels, including thousands of art-house cinemas, universities and libraries; home video; television outlets; Cable Video on Demand (including its very own branded cable VOD platform Film Festival on Demand available in over 40 million US homes); In-flight Entertainment; and broadband outlets. For more information, please visit www.filmmovement.com. www.filmmovement.com 6