Sky and Fremantle have released the first teaser trailer for “M – Son of the Century”, the highly anticipated series about Benito Mussolini’s rise to power, launching from the upcoming Venice Film Festival.
The kaleidoscopic eight-episode show is directed by Joe Wright, the British director of the Winston Churchill drama ‘Darkest Hour’ – which earned Gary Oldman an Oscar for his role as British Prime Minister – as well as ‘Atonement’.
The pulsating ‘M’ soundtrack was composed by Tom Rowlands, also known as part of the pioneering British electronic music duo The Chemical Brothers.
“You can play with the aesthetics and the shape of the piece. The score becomes a kind of techno score,” Wright said Variety last year on set at Cinecittà Studios in Rome, where the show was shot in full. “And the aesthetic is kind of a mix between ’90s rave culture and ‘Man with a Movie Camera’ [the 1929 seminal avant-garde doc by Dziga Vertov], a great Ukrainian film. It’s ‘Man with a Movie Camera’ and every gangster movie you’ve ever seen.
Luca Marinelli (“The Eight Mountains,” “Martin Eden”) plays Mussolini in the period between 1919, when he founded the Fascist party in Italy, and 1925 when Mussolini – after coming to power with the 1922 March on Rome – made an infamous speech in the Italian Chamber of Deputies and declared himself dictator after the assassination of Socialist MP Giacomo Matteotti. The series will also give viewers insight into Mussolini and his personal relationships, including with his wife Rachele, his lover Margherita Sarfatti and other iconic figures of the era, according to the included synopsis.
“M” is based on Antonio Scurati’s Premio Strega-winning and international bestselling novel of the same name, which follows the birth of fascism in Italy and the rise of Mussolini with an innovative approach. The script was written by Stefano Bises (“Gomorrah”, “The New Pope”) in collaboration with Davide Serino (“1992”).
Alberto Barbera, artistic director of the Venice Film Festival, said this recently Variety that having a British director, rather than an Italian one, tackle this material “is an advantage, because it makes it a bit more objective about what happened in those years.”
All eight episodes of “M – Son of the Century” will have their world premiere in Venice.
Sky Studios and Lorenzo Mieli for Fremantle-owned The Apartment Pictures produced “M” in co-production with Pathé and in association with Small Forward. The show will launch on Sky in 2025 in European territories (UK, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Austria and Switzerland), with Fremantle handling international sales.
Watch the trailer for “M” above.