Monday, October 14, 2024
EntertainmentMovies

First look: Gay Italian coming of age saga, Fireworks

Two teenage boys, Gianni and Nino, meet and fall in love. The relationship soon becomes a topic of gossip in their small town and despite their families’ objections the two dream of living together, something the community is determined to stop.

Cinephobia Releasing has announced the North American release of the Italian LGBTQ festival darling Fireworks from writer-director Giuseppe Fiorello.

“I was attracted to Fireworks because it more than just another “gay film” as the story is just as interested in the lives of the boy’s parents, neighbors and friends as it is with the two young lovers”, said Ray Murray, President of Cinephobia Releasing. “It truly is a snapshot of a 1981 pre-gay rights Italian village.”

A sunbaked Sicilian town in the summer of 1982 provides the vivid backdrop to this tender romantic drama about two teenagers who fall in love, but much to the disapproval of those around them.

Gianni is a handsome but shy teen who works as a car mechanic at his stepfather’s garage but mercilessly taunted by the macho townsmen for being a homosexual. With his family life no better, Gianni withdraws into himself until one day he meets Nino, a curly-haired boy with an infectious smile. As the two become close and fall in love, the moral rumblings from their families and neighbors begin to erupt. With all against them, the boys decide to make a stand.

Fireworks held its North American Premiere at the Lincoln Center’s Open Roads Film Festival, and went on to have a healthy festival life with screenings at Reeling: The Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival, Cinema Diverse: Palm Springs LGBTQ+ Film Festival, Damn These Heels Queer Film Festival, and Reel Q – Pittsburgh’s LGBT Film Festival.

The film stars Gabriele Pizzurro, Samuele Segreto, Fabrizia Sacchi, Simona Malato, Antonio De Matteo, and Enrico Roccaforte. It is produced by Riccardo Di Pasquale, Gabriele Oricchio, and Eleonora Pratelli.

Based on a real-life incident that jump-started the Italian Gay Rights movement in 1981, the emotional and beautifully realized Fireworks will arrive on January 18, 2024 on DVD and VOD, digital platforms, including AppleTV, Amazon Prime, Google Play, VUDU, and more.

Latest Articles

Queer Forty Staff

Queer Forty writing staff work hard to bring you all the latest articles to help inspire and inform.

Queer Forty Staff has 2411 posts and counting. See all posts by Queer Forty Staff

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

I accept that my given data and my IP address is sent to a server in the USA only for the purpose of spam prevention through the Akismet program.More information on Akismet and GDPR.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.