TORONTO – Toronto filmgoers were treated to a Marco Bellocchio retrospective at TIFF Lightbox recently, an event that celebrated the Italian filmmaking legend’s decades-long career – which started in the 1960s. Present for the opening screening, the political thriller Fists in the Pocket, was his son [and actor] Pier Giorgio who subbed in as the guest of honour. Pier Giorgio described his father’s relentless drive to tell stories, despite being well into his 80s. And on that night audiences were tipped off about Marco’s latest TV Series, for which he was preparing to shoot. 

That series is Portobello, and has just recently started shooting in Rome with other with other locations in Sardinia, Campania and Lombardy. Very much in his wheel house of biopics and political dramas, Portobello recounts the story of Enzo Tortora, a well-known Italian television host thought to have been involved in a Camorra-run drug trafficking ring. Portobello, named after the host’s popular show will be the first Italian original produced for the MAX streaming platform. Max is a new streaming platform from the Warner Bros, Disney Discovery Group and will be fully available in Italy in 2026.

Tortora’s stint as a television host lasted for seven editions of Portobello, starting in 1977. He was tried by the state in 1985 after being accused by ex-mobsters turned informants of being associated with Camorra drug trafficking. Tortora was sentenced to 10 years and spent a year in prison before being acquitted of all charges in 1987. The conviction was completely overturned in the Supreme Court, the consensus being that corrupt Judges and Prosecutors had done a job on him.

On his subject, Bellocchio commented that “Tortora suffered a great injustice. Arrested, tried and convicted, he was completely acquitted only after a long judicial odyssey. He was a fighter, but the fight made him ill and die. I won’t make a holy picture of him. I will delve into him with a series because a film can’t contain him”.

Enzo Tortora will be portrayed by Fabrizio Gifuni, co-starring with Lino Musella, Romana Maggiora Vergano, Barbora Bobulova, Alessandro Preziosi, and Fausto Russo Alesi. Marco Bellocchio has co-written the screenplay with Stefano Bises, Giordana Mari and Peppe Fiore. Cinematography is by Francesco Di Giacomo, with production design by Andrea Castorina and the original score composed by Teho Teardo.

Portobello will be released concurrently on the MAX streaming platform and in theatres in all countries worldwide, except for France, Germany, and the Benelux region. It is also the first series co-produced by Our Films and Kavac Film, along with Arte France and in collaboration with the Rome based The Apartment Pictures,

(Image of Fabrizio Gifuni courtesy of Max)       

Massimo Volpe is a filmmaker and freelance writer from Toronto: he writes reviews of Italian films/content on Netflix