Ferrari's 'Föa' Premieres at Busan, Sorrentino Produces — SkimNews
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- Margherita Ferrari debuted at the Busan International Film Festival with "Föa – Once Upon a Future," a coming-of-age drama set in Genoa during the July 2001 G8 summit clashes, centering on Nicole, an 18-year-old who is eight months pregnant and shelters three protesters.
- Paolo Sorrentino made his producing debut on the film through his company Numero 10, co-producing with The Apartment and PiperFilm, with PiperPlay handling international sales.
- The project originated as Ferrari's graduation short at Rome's Centro Sperimentale film school, after which she pitched the expanded feature to Sorrentino.
- Ferrari was 4 years old during the actual G8 events; she said the memory of shuttered windows and street smoke returned during the pandemic, driving the film's creation.
- Sorrentino participated in writing and editing but deliberately stayed off set, a restraint Ferrari called "an act of great tenderness" — he visited the set once just to say hello.
- The film stars emerging talents Gaia Ravina, Clara Tramontano, Iker Urgoiti, and Gabriele Falsetta, and takes its title from the Genoese word "Föa," meaning "story."
Why it matters: Sorrentino chose a Centro Sperimentale grad's debut as the launch project for his Numero 10 production banner, and Busan selection gives Ferrari international visibility before wider release — a notable mentorship model from an Oscar winner now adding producer credits to his résumé.
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