At Cannes, Mario Martone’s film received a 7-minute-long round of applause

Mario Martone‘s feature Fuori‘s screening at the Grand Théâtre Lumière was followed by seven minutes of applauses. The only Italian film in competition at the 78th Cannes Film Festival, focused on the writer Goliarda Sapienza, played by Valeria Golino, also received praise from the international press.

“Valeria Golino shines in Mario Martone’s tribute to maverick Italian writer Goliarda Sapienza,” writes Indiewire. For Deadline: “Martone builds up a very textured analysis of the types of women doing time, and the types of crime that send them there.” According to Libération, the director “paints a beautiful portrait of the anarchist writer Goliarda Sapienza, marked by the passionate friendship with a former fellow inmate.”

The cast also includes Elodie and Matilda De Angelis, who portray the two women Sapienza met in Rebibbia prison after being arrested for theft. “De Angelis is electric as the capricious, self-destructive Roberta […] The film’s very pulse quickens whenever she enters the frame,” writes Variety.

The film will be released in theaters on May 22 by 01 Distribution. On the evening of May 21, a special premiere will take place live from the Cinema Teatro Ariston in Sanremo, and will be live-streamed in over 170 selected cinemas across Italy. Following the screening, there will be a Q&A with the director and cast, moderated by Piera Detassis, president of the David di Donatello Awards Academy.