''Diciannove'' () is a 2024

coming-of-age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

film directed by Giovanni Tortorici in his feature directorial debut. Starring newcomer Manfredi Marini, it follows a restless 19-year-old student on his journey of self-discovery. It premiered at the

81st Venice International Film Festival The 81st annual Venice Film Festival, Venice International Film Festival was held from 28 August to 7 September 2024, at Venice Lido in Italy. French actress Isabelle Huppert served as Jury President for the main competition. Italian actress an ...

on 30 August 2024.

Premise

Leonardo, a 19-year-old student, leaves his hometown of

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

to study economics in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. He soon grows restless and enrolls at the

University of Siena The University of Siena (, abbreviation: UNISI), located in Siena, Tuscany, holds the distinction of being Italy's first publicly funded university as well as one of the oldest, originally established as ''Studium Senese'' in 1240. As of 2022, it ...

to study literature before dropping out of school to study classics on his own. The following year, he travels to

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

to continue his journey of self-discovery.

Cast

* Manfredi Marini as Leonardo Gravina * Vittoria Planeta as Arianna Gravina, Leonardo's sister * Dana Giuliano as Grazia, Arianna's roommate * Zackari Delmas * Luca Lazzareschi *

Sergio Benvenuto Sergio Benvenuto (born 1948 in Naples, Italy) is an Italian psychoanalysis, psychoanalyst, philosopher and author. He is researcher for the Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies (ISTC) of the Italian National Research Council (Consigli ...

* Maria Pia Ferlazzo as Leonardo's mother

Production

The film is loosely autobiographical, with some elements taken directly from director Giovanni Tortorici's life. He stated: Tortorici met fellow Sicilian

Luca Guadagnino Luca Guadagnino (; born 10 August 1971) is an Italian film director and producer. His films are characterized by their emotional complexity, eroticism, and lavish visuals. Guadagnino has received numerous accolades, including a Silver Lion, alon ...

while working as an assistant director on Guadagnino's 2020

miniseries In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

We Are Who We Are ''We Are Who We Are'' is a 2020 coming-of-age drama television miniseries co-created and directed by Luca Guadagnino for HBO and Sky Atlantic. A coming-of-age story set on a fictional U.S. military base in Chioggia, Italy, in 2016, the series f ...

''. Tortorici later showed Guadagnino his script for ''Diciannove'', and Guadagnino loved it so much that he offered to produce the film. Manfredi Marini, who plays Leonardo, was selected for the role via open castings. The film was shot on 35 mm film. Principal photography took place in

Siena Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, and

in 2023. Tortorici's childhood home was also used as a filming location.

Release

The film premiered at the

on 30 August 2024 as part of the ''

Orizzonti ''Orizzonti'' ( 'Horizons') is a section of the Venice Film Festival's official selection. It runs as a parallel section to the main competition for the Golden Lion The Golden Lion () is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Fe ...

'' competition. That year, it was also screened at the

Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...

and the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival. On 13 March 2025,

Oscilloscope An oscilloscope (formerly known as an oscillograph, informally scope or O-scope) is a type of electronic test instrument that graphically displays varying voltages of one or more signals as a function of time. Their main purpose is capturing i ...

acquired the U.S. rights to the film.

Reception

Kate Erbland of '' IndieWire'' gave the film a B+, writing, "Giovanni Tortorici's feature directorial debut is a creative shape-shifter, but once this Luca Guadagino-produced feature finally snaps into focus, it becomes something much more exciting." Jordan Mintzer of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' wrote, "''Diciannove'' is unflinchingly honest about what it's like to be 19, and, for the most part, totally lost. And Tortorici's insistence on capturing that feeling while avoiding the usual narrative tropes is what makes his film both fascinating and somewhat impenetrable." Guy Lodge of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' called the film "a vivid, humane evocation of what it's like to be 19 years old, with the world at your feet and over your head". Simone Emiliani of '' Mymovies.it'' gave the film three-and-a-half out of five stars, calling it a "bold and decidedly convincing debut where even its limitations make it even more electrifying". Lorenzo Ciofani of ''Cinematografo.it'' also gave the film three-and-a-half out of five stars, writing that "Giovanni Tortorici's first work is a disturbing seminar on the youth of a student who loves the literature of the past and does not know what to do in the present". Camillo De Marco of

Cineuropa Cineuropa is an online information portal dedicated to the promotion of European cinema. It publishes daily news, reviews, interviews, and industry reports and maintains a database of information. It is available in four languages: English, Fre ...

called the film "light-hearted, provocative, asyntactic". Martina Barone of ''

GQ Italia ''GQ'' (short for ''Gentlemen's Quarterly'' and previously known as ''Apparel Arts'') is an international monthly men's magazine based in New York City and founded in 1931. The publication focuses on fashion, style, and culture for men, though ...

'' called the film "a courageous and arrogant debut" and wrote, "If the university years are the same ones in which one experiments the most, so with his debut feature film Giovanni Tortorici decides that it is right to try to be everything and its exact opposite, to have a well-defined character, but at the same time to be able to allow oneself to try, improvise and even make mistakes. Those who have never made a mistake at nineteen have never had the opportunity to grow up, so it is fun to watch a film so openly repulsive, so obsessively focused on not pleasing anyone...."

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{IMDb title 2020s British films 2020s Italian films 2020s Italian-language films 2024 directorial debut films 2024 films 2024 drama films 2024 LGBTQ-related films British coming-of-age drama films Films about literature Films about students Films produced by Luca Guadagnino Films set in London Films set in Palermo Films set in Siena Films set in 2015 Films set in Turin Films set in universities and colleges Films shot in London Films shot in Milan Films shot in Palermo Films shot in Siena Frenesy Film Company films Italian coming-of-age drama films Italian drama films Italian-language drama films Italian teen LGBTQ-related films LGBTQ-related coming-of-age drama films Semi-autobiographical films 2020s LGBTQ-related drama films British teen LGBTQ-related films