US Indie Distributor Pictures of broken glass acquired the rights to distribute Francesco Costabile's dark melodrama “Family” in the United States. ItalyCandidate for Best International Feature Film at the 2026 Academy Awards.
Blending elements of psychological thriller and social commentary, Family follows the harrowing journey of Luigi, a young man struggling with a toxic family legacy and his connection to extremist ideologies. Based on Luigi Celeste's autobiographical book It Won't Be Like This Forever, the story delves into destructive cycles of violence and the struggle for redemption.
Constabile's film opened at the 2024 Venice Film Festival in the Horizons section, where protagonist Francesco Ghegi won Best Actor for his powerful performance as Gigi Celeste, a young man shaped by domestic violence and drawn into a far-right political movement. “Familia” won Francesco Di Leva, who plays the mercurial father whose return from prison destabilizes an already fragile family, the Italian David di Donatello Award for best supporting actor.
The film's cast also includes Barbara Ronchi (Marco Bellocio's “Kidnapped”).
Costabile previously received critical acclaim for her debut film Una Femmina – Code of Silence, about women who had the courage to break the grip of blood ties and the codes of the Calabrian mafia.
“We are thrilled to bring The Family to U.S. theaters, an award-winning film with powerful cinematic language that immediately captivated us,” Breaking Glass Pictures CEO Richard Wolf said in a statement. The indie distributor is known for its focus on international and auteur cinema, including LGBTQ+, horror and foreign language films, with a strong focus on Italian films such as Mario Martone's Nostalgia.
True Colors head of sales Francesca Tiberi, who handled the Last Name deal, commented: “We are extremely pleased to renew our collaboration with BGP on a special feature film like Last Name and its Oscar campaign.”
The two companies previously teamed up in 2022 to support Italy's Oscar campaign for Nostalgia, which launched in competition at the Cannes Film Festival.
Costabile said in a statement that “Familia” “explores the forms of violence inherent in patriarchal culture against women, a theme that is tragically relevant today and permeates every culture and every country.”
“Familia” is produced by Attilio de Razza and Nicola Picone at Rome-based Tramp Limited. Co-produced by Nicola Giuliano of Rome's Indigo Film and Pierpaolo Verga of Neapolitan company O'Groove, in association with Medusa Film.
