The world premiere of The Burnt Orange Heresy directed by Giuseppe Capotondi (La doppia ora) is the closing film, Out of Competition, of the 76th Venice International Film Festival (August 28 – September 7, 2019). The Burnt Orange Heresy starring Claes Bang, Elizabeth Debicki, Mick Jagger and Donald Sutherland will be screened on Saturday, September 7th in the Sala Grande of thePalazzo del Cinema at the Lido di Venezia; the screening will be held after the awards ceremony.
The art world and the underworld collide in director Giuseppe Capotondi’s elegant and erotic neo-noir thriller, The Burnt Orange Heresy. Set in present day Italy, irresistibly charismatic art critic James Figueras (Bang) hooks up with provocative and alluring fellow American, Berenice Hollis (Debicki). He’s a classic anti-hero in the making with a charm that masks his ambition, whilst she’s an innocent touring Europe, enjoying the freedom of being whoever she wishes. The new lovers travel to the lavish and opulent Lake Como estate of powerful art collector, Cassidy (Jagger). Their host reveals he is the patron of Jerome Debney (Sutherland), the reclusive J.D. Salinger of the art world, and he has a simple request: for James to steal a Debney masterpiece from the artist’s studio, whatever the cost. As the couple spend time with the legendary Debney, they start to realise that nothing about the artist nor their mission is what it seems. But James is a man of deep, lurking ambition and he will do anything, from arson and burglary to murder, in order to further his career…
After studying philosophy at the Statale University in Milan, director Giuseppe Capotondi began directing music videos and TV commercials at the age of 23 and has been doing so relentlessly ever since. He has directed more than 250 TV ads and music videos to date, winning several international awards including the D&AD and Cannes Lion. In 2009 Giuseppe’s first feature film The Double Hour premiered in competition at the 66th Venice film festival to rave reviews and won its protagonist Kseniya Rappoport the Coppa Volpi award for best actress. Giuseppe then went on to direct two documentaries and several TV episodes for shows such as Epix’s Berlin Station, Netflix’s Suburra and ITV’s Endeavour. In 2019, he directed his second feature, The Burnt Orange Heresy, a contemporary film-noir starring Claes Bang, Elizabeth Debicki, Mick Jagger and Donald Sutherland.