Bravo Bene!
Bravo Bene! is a 2025 Italian mockumentary film directed by Franco Maresco. It focuses on the director's failed attempts to film a project about Italian actor, filmmaker and poet Carmelo Bene.
The film had its world premiere in the main competition of the 82nd Venice International Film Festival on 5 September 2025, where it was nominated for the Golden Lion. It was theatrically released in Italy on the same day by Lucky Red.
Plot
"A film within a film", Italian filmmaker Franco Maresco is in the middle of shooting a new feature film about Carmelo Bene, one of the leading figures of neo-avant-garde Italian theater and cinema, due to various setbacks shooting is repeated delayed. Frustrated, producer Andrea Occhipinti decides to abandon the project. An angry Maresco accuses the production team of "filmicide" and resigns. Screenwriter Umberto Cantone, a close friend of the director, searches for a solution inviting everyone involved to testify in an investigation, shedding light on Maresco's personality and ideas. There is speculation that the offended Maresco may have been finishing the film on his own in the meantime. This, he says, is "the only way" to express his anger and horror at the failed project.Production
Bravo Bene! is the 48th directorial work by Franco Maresco. He wrote the screenplay together with Umberto Cantone, Claudia Uzzo, and Francesco Guttuso. In addition to Maresco and Cantone, the film also stars producer Marco Alessi and actors Giuseppe Lo Piccolo, Gino Carista, Melino Imparato, and Antonio Rezza. Alessandro Abate served as cinematographer, while Paolo Freddi and Francesco Guttoso were responsible for the editing. Guttoso had worked on Maresco's previous film The Mafia Is No Longer What It Used to Be. The score was composed by jazz pianist Salvatore Bonafede.The film was produced by Andrea Occhipinti for Lucky Red, together with Marco Alessi for Dugong Films and Daniele Occhipinti for Eolo Films Productions. The film project was supported by, among others, the Italian Ministry of Culture.
Release
Bravo Bene! was selected to compete for the Golden Lion at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival, where it had its world premiere on 5 September 2025. It is Maresco's second invitation to the competition following his film The Mafia Is No Longer What It Used to Be in 2019.International sales are handled by True Colours. The film's is scheduled to be theatrically released in Italy on 5 September 2025, distributed by Lucky Red.