"Suffered a great injustice": When Portobello director Marco Bellocchio shared key details about Enzo Tortora's story while filming the HBO series

Italian filmmaker Marco Bellocchio is set to tackle one of Italy's judicial misconduct cases with the upcoming HBO series, Portobello. Slated for a 2026 release, the show is about Enzo Tortora. He was a beloved TV presenter whose life and career were destroyed by a false conviction in 1983.

Tortora's arrest shook the nation to its core. Bellocchio is now on a mission to show the impact of public scandals and corruption on individual lives. Bellocchio, never one to shy away from the darker aspects of Italy's past, views Tortora's experience as "a great injustice" that warrants reevaluation, Variety reports.

He added,

"He was a fighter, but the fight made him sick and led to his death."

The director doesn't want to show Tortora as perfect, but as a real person who was hurt by things that were too powerful for him to handle.

Cast and crew of Portobello

Behind the scenes of the film Portobello, director Marco Bellocchio has brought together a stellar group of creative minds. The screenplay was crafted by a collaborative team, which includes Bellocchio himself, along with the scribes Stefano Bises (known for the crime drama Gomorrah), Giordana Mari (who contributed to My Love), and Peppe Fiore (a writer on The King)

The series is being brought to life by Our Films, a new production company co-founded by Mario Gianani and Lorenzo Mieli.

These industry legends have a proven track record, having nurtured shows such as The Young Pope and My Brilliant Friend. Additionally, Fremantle's The Apartment Pictures and Arte France are lending their support to the project.

Plot of Portobello and its filming locations

The six-episode show is currently being shot in Rome, Sardinia, Campania, and Lombardy. It features Fabrizio Gifuni, who you may know from playing Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro in Exterior Night by Bellocchio.

In the show, Gifuni takes on the role of Tortora.

Back in his day, Tortora was the biggest TV star in Italy.

He had a game show called Portobello that everyone watched, with 28 million people tuning in every week. But in 1983, everything changed when the police came to his hotel room and took him away.

They said he was a criminal based on what mobsters had told them. This started a trial that was so full of drama and mistakes, it's now a symbol of how the justice system in Italy didn't always work right back then...or even now.

Even though he was first given a 10-year sentence, the Supreme Court said in 1987 that he didn't do anything wrong after all.

How relevant is the show?

Portobello feels eerily similar to the ones we see playing out today, with the public acting as judge and media trials. Bellocchio is known for his sharp take on Italian political scandals and societal decay. So we can expect a tight character study and a commentary on the flaws in our justice system.

With filming currently in progress and a high-profile debut lined up for the 82nd Venice Film Festival, it seems likely that Portobello will become one of HBO's most talked-about, prestige TV dramas.

Considering Bellocchio's earlier successes, Tortora's tale is now seeking to hook audiences from all around the globe, not just within Italy's own film circles.

Trending

Portobello will be streaming on HBO Max next year.

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback