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Disco Boy (film)

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Disco Boy
Italian theatrical release poster
Directed byGiacomo Abbruzzese
Written byGiacomo Abbruzzese
Produced by
  • Lionel Massol
  • Pauline Seigland
Starring
CinematographyHélène Louvart
Edited by
  • Fabrizio Federico
  • Ariane Boukerche
  • Giacomo Abbruzzese
Music byVitalic
Production
companies
  • Films Grand Huit
  • Dugong Films
  • Panache Productions
  • La Compagnie Cinématographique
  • Division
  • Donten & Lacroix Films
  • Stromboli Films
  • VOO
  • BeTV
Distributed by
  • KMBO (France)
  • Lucky Red (Italy)
  • Anga Productions (Belgium)
  • Nowe Horyzonty (Poland)
Release dates
  • 19 February 2023 (2023-02-19) (Berlinale)
  • 9 March 2023 (2023-03-09) (Italy)
  • 3 May 2023 (2023-05-03) (France)
  • 24 May 2023 (2023-05-24) (Belgium)
  • 6 October 2023 (2023-10-06) (Poland)
Running time
91 minutes
Countries
  • France
  • Italy
  • Belgium
  • Poland[1][2]
Languages
Box office$327,793[3]

Disco Boy is a 2023 drama film written and directed by Giacomo Abbruzzese in his feature directorial debut and starring Franz Rogowski, Morr Ndiaye, Laetitia Ky, Leon Lučev, Matteo Olivetti, Robert Więckiewicz and Michał Balicki. The film depicts the intertwined stories of Aleksei (Rogowski), a member of the French Foreign Legion; and of Jomo (Ndiaye), a guerrilla fighter in a village in the Niger Delta.[4] It was selected to compete for the Golden Bear at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival, where it had its world premiere on 19 February 2023. Abbruzzese was also nominated for GWFF Best First Feature Award in the festival.[5] The film was released in Italy on 9 March 2023, in France on 3 May 2023, in Belgium on 24 May 2023 and in Poland on 6 October 2023.

Cast

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Production

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Development

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Disco Boy is the feature film debut of Italian-born director and screenwriter Giacomo Abbruzzese. He developed the film during the Cinéfondation artist-in-residence program initiated by the Cannes Film Festival.[6] Speaking to Cineuropa's Davide Abbatescianni, Abbruzzese revealed that Rogowski's character was born out of an encounter in a nightclub with a dancer who had been a soldier. "He explained this 'dichotomy' through his body: a dancer's body is the same as a soldier's body. Although seemingly opposed, they actually have many things in common: discipline, the choreography involved is almost pleasurable thanks to the extreme effort involved, you return home destroyed and exhausted", Abbruzzese added.[7]

Casting

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Franz Rogowski portrays Aleksey

Franz Rogowski was cast in the role of Aleksey, and Morr Ndiaye from Gambia as Jomo. He was discovered through his participation in the documentary film Tumaranké (2018). Laetitia Ky, the Ivorian women's activist, influencer and model was cast as Udoka alongside Croatian Leon Lučev, Italian Matteo Olivetti, Polish Robert Więckiewicz and Belgian Mutamba Kalonji.[6]

Filming

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The film was shot from 13 September to 5 November 2021 in France (Paris and the island of Réunion) and Polish Subcarpathia.[4][8]

Release

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Disco Boy had its world premiere at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival on 19 February 2023, in competition.[9] It was released theatrically in Italy on 9 March 2023 by Lucky Red,[10] in France on 3 May 2023 by KMBO,[11] in Belgium on 24 May 2023 by Anga Productions,[12] and in Poland on 6 October 2023 by Nowe Horyzonty.[13]

The film was screened at the 2024 Glasgow Film Festival.[14]

Reception

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Critical response

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On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 89% based on 53 reviews, with an average rating of 7.1/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Visually stylish and alluring in a dreamlike way, Disco Boy finds writer-director Giacomo Abbruzzese building on his obvious influences to tell a story that's distinctive in its own right."[15] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 71 out of 100 based on 16 reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[16]

Ben Croll of IndieWire graded the film B and wrote, "Getting in, getting down, and getting out as a style-hopping sizzle reel, Disco Boy heralds a promising new talent who totally has the moves."[17] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian rated the film with 4 stars out of 5 and wrote, "Giacomo Abbruzzese makes a really stylish debut with Disco Boy, a visually thrilling, ambitious and distinctly freaky adventure into the heart of imperial darkness". Praising score and cinematography Bradshaw concluded, "The electronic score by Vitalic [...] throbs in its own incantatory trance and Hélène Louvart's cinematography is a thing of beauty. It's quite a trip."[18]

Accolades

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Award Date Category Recipient Result Ref.
Berlin International Film Festival 25 February 2023 Golden Bear Disco Boy Nominated [19]
GWFF Best First Feature Award Giacomo Abbruzzese Nominated [5]
Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution: cinematography Hélène Louvart Won [20]
César Awards 23 February 2024 Best Original Music Vitalic Nominated [21]
International Cinephile Society 11 February 2024 Best Score Nominated [22]
Lumières Award 22 January 2024 Best Actor Franz Rogowski Nominated [23]
Best First Film Disco Boy Nominated
Best Cinematography Hélène Louvart Nominated
Best Music Vitalic Won [24]
David di Donatello Awards May 3, 2024 Best Producer Giulia Achilli, Marco Alessi, Lionel Massol, Pauline Seigland, André Logie Nominated [25]
Best New Director Linda Caridi Nominated

References

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  1. ^ a b Lodge, Guy (19 February 2023). "'Disco Boy' Review: Franz Rogowski Does 'Beau Travail' in a Dreamy Legionnaire Odyssey". Variety. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Disco Boy". Berlin International Film Festival. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  3. ^ "Disco Boy (2023)". Box Office Mojo.
  4. ^ a b Lemercier, Fabien (15 September 2021). "Giacomo Abbruzzese is shooting Disco Boy". Cineuropa. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Films nominated for the GWFF Best First Feature Award" (Press release). Berlin International Film Festival. 1 February 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  6. ^ a b Blaney, Martin (18 January 2023). "70 European and Mena films to tempt festival directors in 2023 cast". Screen Daily. Archived from the original on 5 March 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  7. ^ Abbatescianni, Davide (26 February 2023). "Giacomo Abbruzzese • Director of Disco Boy". Cineuropa. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  8. ^ "Disco Boy". Crew United. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  9. ^ Rosser, Michael (23 January 2023). "Berlin Film Festival reveals 2023 competition line-up". Screen Daily. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  10. ^ "Giacomo Abbruzzese e il cast incontrano il pubblico di Disco Boy nei cinema italiani" (in Italian). Lucky Red. 2 March 2023. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  11. ^ "Disco Boy de Giacomo Abbruzzese". Unifrance. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  12. ^ "Disco Boy" (in French). Les Grignoux. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  13. ^ "Disco Boy". Nowe Horyzonty. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  14. ^ Boyce, Laurence (28 February 2024). "Glasgow Film Festival begins its 20th edition". Cineuropa. Retrieved 28 February 2024.
  15. ^ "Disco Boys". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  16. ^ "Disco Boy". Metacritic. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  17. ^ Croll, Ben (19 February 2023). "'Disco Boy' Review: French Foreign Legion Drama Bluntly Portrays the Horrors of War". IndieWire. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  18. ^ Bradshaw, Peter (20 February 2023). "Disco Boy review – freaky trip into the heart of imperial darkness". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 February 2023.
  19. ^ Ramachandran, Naman; Vivarelli, Nick (23 January 2023). "Berlin Film Festival Reveals Competition Lineup (Updating Live)". Variety. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  20. ^ Roxborough, Scott (25 February 2023). "Berlin: French Documentary 'On the Adamant' Wins Golden Bear for Best Film". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
  21. ^ Goodfellow, Melanie (24 January 2024). "'The Animal Kingdom' Leads Nominations For France's 2024 César Awards, Followed By 'Anatomy Of A Fall' – Full List". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  22. ^ Stevens, Beth (11 February 2024). "2024 ICS Award Winners". International Cinephile Society. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  23. ^ Lemercier, Fabien (14 December 2023). "Anatomie d'une chute domine les nominations pour les Lumières" [Anatomy of a Fall leads Lumières nominations]. Cineuropa (in French). Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  24. ^ Keslassy, Elsa (22 January 2024). "'Anatomy of a Fall' Wins Best Film, Actress, Screenplay at France's Lumiere Awards". Variety. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  25. ^ Roxborough, Scott (3 April 2024). "Paola Cortellesi's 'There's Still Tomorrow' Leads Italy's Donatello Awards Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
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