Forza, Marco Balsamo’s soccer drama shot between Bali and Milan, has been picked up for international sales by EST N8, which will take the film to the Tokyo International Film Festival’s TIFFCOM market from October 28 to 30. Before that, it gets its first public screening on October 25 at Jakarta Film Week.
Forza (Credits: Variety)
The deal gives the film a major shop window in Asia, with buyers from across the region gathering at TIFFCOM to scout new titles. For a debut feature built around football and family, the Tokyo market is a natural next step after its Jakarta bow.
What Forza Is About
Balsamo’s first feature as director centers on Bima, an 11-year-old from Bali who hopes a career as a professional footballer will give his family a better life. It is a dream shared by millions of kids around the world, but Bima’s story takes a turn when a chance bond with a former AC Milan player in the last stretch of his career changes the outlook for both of them.
The film pairs a young hopeful with a veteran at the other end of his journey, and that contrast is the heart of the drama. One is chasing everything ahead of him, the other is coming to terms with what is behind him, and football is the language they share. Shot between Bali and Milan, the film moves between two very different footballing worlds: the sun-soaked pitches of Indonesia and the historic heartland of Italian football.
AC Milan Great Alessandro Costacurta and the Road Ahead
The film features AC Milan great Alessandro Costacurta, a name that carries instant weight with football fans. Costacurta’s presence connects the fictional story to the real history of one of Europe’s most storied clubs, and it gives Forza a genuine footballing pedigree that few debut features can match.
With its Jakarta Film Week screening on October 25 marking its first public outing, and EST N8 carrying it into TIFFCOM days later, Forza is now positioned to find audiences well beyond its Bali and Milan roots. For a first feature from Balsamo, the back-to-back festival and market exposure is a strong launch, and international buyers will be watching closely to see how the soccer drama plays.
Football stories that cross cultures have a proven ability to travel, and Forza, with its young dreamer, its veteran mentor and its AC Milan connection, has all the ingredients to do exactly that.
Source: Variety — read the full story there.