Angelina Jolie is in Martina Franca, Apulia, for the new film she is producing and directing. The film, Without Blood, based on Alessandro Baricco’s novel Senza sangue (Rizzoli, 2002), is produced by Fremantle who acquired the film rights in 2017. Production design and logistics are employing approximately 60 people locally to dress the town near Taranto, a key location with Matera, as a Hispanic village. The set dressing has even changed the signs of local businesses, especially in piazza Maria Immacolata, piazza Plebiscito and via Garibaldi near the Cathedral of St. Martin: a tabacos loteria, papelerìa, el café, a carnicería, and an old fountain can now be found near the piazza. Shooting began in Matera on 6 June, in Piazza San Pietro Caveoso and Via Bruno Buozzi in the Sasso Caveoso area and will continue in Rome.
Produced by Fremantle (Andrea Scrosati), Jolie Productions (Angelina Jolie), The Apartment Pictures (Lorenzo Mieli), part of the Fremantle Group and De Maio Entertainment (Lorenzo De Maio), the film will be distributed worldwide by Fremantle. The main characters are played by Oscar-nominated actors, Salma Hayek Pinault (Frida, Eternals, House of Gucci) and Demián Bichir (A Better Life, Hateful 8, Land), who are flanked by an international level production team and cast.
Without Blood is the first project in the international three year partnership signed by Angelina Jolie with Fremantle (fresh from a recent agreement with Cinecittà and acquisition of LuxVide) to make films, TV series and documentaries as producer, director or actress.
It tells the story of Manuel Roca and his two children who live in an old rural farmhouse. One day, an old Mercedes drives down the dusty lane to their house with 4 men onboard. As if he had been awaiting the moment forever, Manuel calls his children to his side. The events that follow upset many lives, especially little Nina’s.