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Scarlet film image, director Pietro Marcello

Scarlet

L’Envol

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Canadian Premiere

Using tinted archival footage and shot in lush, saturated colours, Scarlet is a romantic coming-of-age period tale about a young woman who is ostracized by her small French village. Juliette, raised by her war-scarred father, grows up to be a dreamy young woman imbued with an ardent love for poetry and a natural talent for music. Italian director Pietro Marcello (Martin Eden), in his first French-language film, crafts an enchanting, lyrical world of dreams infused with a large dose of post-World War I realism and a touch of magic. Inexpressibly affective and captivating, the film also features original songs: lovely, wistful, and filled with longing. Newcomer Juliette Jouan mesmerizes in her very first role. Based on Alexander Grin’s Russian novella Scarlet Sails and featured in 2022 Cannes Directors’ Fortnight.

Marcello has a talent for making such material come alive through his inventive direction, whisking us away to a time and place that we experience as if we were actually there.”—Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter

 

Presented by

Consulate General of Italy logo

Director
Cast

Juliette Jouan, Louis Garrel, Noémie Lvovsky, Raphaël Thierry, Yolande Moreau

Credits
Country of Origin

France/Italy/Germany

Year

2022

Language

In French with English subtitles

Film Contact
Links
Content Warning

Sexual Violence

18+
100 min
Drama Romance

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Credits

Screenwriter

Pietro Marcello, Maurizio Braucci, Maud Ameline

Cinematography

Marco Graziaplena

Editor

Carole Le Page, Andrea Maguolo

Original Music

Gabriel Yared

Director

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Pietro Marcello

Pietro Marcello studied painting at the Academy of Fine Arts in Naples. His documentary Il Passaggio della linea (2007) won a Special Mention award at the Venice Film Festival. In 2009, his documentary La bocca del lupo won the Caligari Film Award and the Teddy Bear at the Berlinale, as well as the FIPRESCI Prize at the Torino Film Festival. His first narrative feature, Martin Eden, won numerous awards including Coppa Volpi at the Venice Film Festival, and the Platform Prize at TIFF. His 2021 film Futura was presented at Cannes Film Festival’s Directors’ Fortnight.

Filmography: Bella e Perduta (2015); Martin Eden (2019); Per Lucio (2021); Futura (2021)