World premiere of Caravaggio - The Movie

The world premiere of Caravaggio - The Movie, a biographic production by Rai Fiction, will be held at the Eden Century Complex on Friday at 8.30 p.m.

Renaissance Productions Ltd have bought the rights to secure the screening of the film here. The film was co-produced with Titania Produzioni (Italy), the Institut del Cinema Català (Spain), EOS Entertainment (Germany) and GMT Productions (France).

It will be released in various cinemas around the world next year.

Rai Fiction has also produced a television mini-series version of the film consisting in two episodes of 100 minutes each. The TV series would eventually be screened on RaiUno.

Italian actor Alessio Boni is the protagonist. Mr Boni recently appeared in the main role in Tolstoy's War And Peace, which has just premiered in Italy, and in the much-acclaimed Wuthering Heights, both produced by Rai Fiction.

Apart from Mr Boni, who interprets Michelangelo Merisi, the cast features over 90 Italian, French, Spanish and German actors with the participation of Italian actress Elena Sofia Ricci as the Marchesa Costanza Colonna.

Caravaggio - The Movie is an $8 million narrative of the tormented life of the famous artist.

The 130-minute production is directed by Angelo Longoni and the director of the spectacular photography which utilises and makes his own Caravaggio's chiaroscuro concept is Oscar-winning director Vittorio Storaro (Apocalypse Now, Reds, The Last Emperor). The soundtrack is composed by Luis Bacalov.

Michelangelo Michele Merisi was born into a humble family in the town of Caravaggio from which the artist derived his professional moniker.

Cursed with a violent temper, Michele became as well known for his brawling as for his art, frequenting the seamier side of Rome and using its prostitutes and thieves as models, even for his religious paintings.

His art attracted a fervent group of admirers, while he established an equally dedicated battery of enemies.

Tickets are being sold from the Eden Century at Lm5 each.

This is an initiative by Renaissance Productions Ltd within the context of the exhibition of works attributed to Caravaggio being coordinated by Heritage Malta, in collaboration with Renaissance Productions Ltd and the government.

The exhibition called Caravaggio; L'Immagine Del Divino is open to the public at the Museum of Archaeology, Valletta, until the end of next month.