Giuseppe Bonito will bring Fame d'aria to the next Venice Film Festival, an adaptation of Daniele Mencarelli's novel that tells of the daily difficulties and contradictory affection between a father and his son with autism. The film has been chosen for the Giornate degli Autori, the autonomous, parallel section of the festival scheduled from 2 to 12 September 2026.
The story follows Pietro, played by Paolo Pierobon, a man worn down by physical fatigue, debt and a profound loneliness, and Jacopo, an eighteen-year-old described as having a form of low-functioning autism. The narrative begins with a car breakdown that forces the two to stop in a small town: there they meet a mechanic, Oliviero, and are hosted at Agata's pension-bar, where a young woman named Gaia gradually forms a relationship with Pietro.
Bonito, who co-wrote the screenplay with the novel's author and with Monica Zapelli, said he found in Mencarelli's book a direct, non-rhetorical approach to the theme of autism. For the director, the story had to avoid stereotypes and the sensationalism that often privileges forms of high-functioning autism with more immediately dramatic elements.
The main cast features Paolo Pierobon as the father and Saverio Santangelo as Jacopo; Alfonso Santagata appears as the mechanic, Milvia Marigliano as Agata and Rosa Palasciano as Gaia. The production is by Clemart together with Rai Cinema, which supports the project based on the novel of the same name published by Mondadori.
On the choice of the lead, Bonito said he sought an actor capable of immersing himself in the character's complexity, a quality he believes Pierobon possesses. For the son's role, the director disclosed that casting a young person actually autistic and low-functioning was not a practicable route and that the part was therefore entrusted to an actor: after an extensive casting, the role went to Santangelo, whose performance during improvisation in auditions convinced the director.
In telling the film, Bonito does not limit himself to the private sphere: he wants viewers to perceive Pietro's solitude not only as emotional isolation but also as a deficit of social and institutional protections. Concrete themes emerge in the story's background, such as the economic burden of care and the practical marginalization of families who care for people with severe disabilities.
The director also denounces practices of exploitation against families, a theme the film intends to bring to light. These statements anchor the film in a dimension of civic denunciation rather than in a mere family drama: the declared intent is to cry out, through the narrative, about the seriousness of an abandonment that is first and foremost political and administrative.
The choice not to cast an actor who is actually autistic raises complex questions about the ethics of casting and on-screen representation. In the article presenting the film the director states he viewed hundreds of candidates; this is an element provided by the production and not independently verified, and details about the chosen actor's personal background regarding direct experiences with autism remain undocumented.
At the moment there are no available elements on critical or audience reception: the Venice screening will be one of the first public moments to assess how the film is received. Likewise, the article does not provide precise figures relating to the costs borne by families nor concrete examples of economic situations similar to the one depicted on screen; the denunciation therefore remains tied to the narrative dimension and the director's interpretation.
Fame d'aria fits into Bonito's cinematic trajectory, who has previously explored the theme of parenthood in other works and literary adaptations. The new film could contribute to shifting the public debate on more severe forms of autism, focusing attention on missing resources and fractures in the welfare system, while also reopening discussion on how cinema represents disability.
Among concrete consequences, the visibility granted by the Venice selection will give the film an important showcase and the possibility of stimulating debates in cultural and civic spheres. It is plausible that discussions will re-emerge about the right to authentic representation, about the working conditions of families with disabled members and about the institutional responses needed, but on these points the available material does not yet provide definitive answers.
The official presentation at the Giornate degli Autori will mark the first public occasion to verify the film's narrative effectiveness and the reaction of critics and audiences. For now, what clearly emerges is the director's desire to tell a difficult reality without easy concessions and to raise questions touching on social protections, collective responsibility and the ethical choices of contemporary cinema.