The Venice Film Festival kicks off its 80th edition on Wednesday with Italian director Edoardo De Angelis’s World War Two Italian submarine drama Comandante.
The Golden Lion contender was propelled into the prestigious opening slot in July when Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers was pulled, as it became clear that the film’s starry cast topped by Zendaya would not be able to attend due to the actors’ strike.
Italian and Belgian talent will be leading the red carpet instead at the opening gala. Multi-award-winning Italian actor Pierfrancesco Favino (Nostalgia, Padrenostro, The Traiter) leads the cast as real-life, Italian World War Two Submarine commander Salvatore Todaro.
As commander of the then brand new Italian submarine Cappellini, he led missions in the Atlantic alongside German U-boats sinking merchant sea vessels carrying supplies for the Allies.
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