Principal shooting has started for Marco Tullio Giordana's current project entitled Crazy Blood (Sangue Pazzo), a co-production between Angelo Barbagallo's Bibi Films and the French company Paradis Films with the collaboration of Rai Cinema and Rai Fiction.

With Crazy Blood, Tullio Giordana revisits the political/social genre for which he is best known. His past films One Hundred Steps (Cento Passi) and The Best of Youth (La Meglio Gioventu) were both commentaries of Italian society as seen across its political history.

Principal cast in the new film includes Monica Bellucci, Alessio Boni (The Best of Youth) and Luca Zingaretti (My Brother's an Only Child).

Crazy Blood follows the real life story of Luisa Vareda and Osvaldo Valenti - both actors of fascist cinema. Set during the Repubblica di Salo (the popular name assumed by the fascist government when Italy was occupied by Nazis) once Italy is liberated the duo are accused of torture and Nazi collaboration and shot to death by the partisans.

The film is based on an original screenplay Tullio Giordana wrote with Leone Colonna and Enzo Ungari in 1985 and will be shot over 13 weeks in the Po River delta, Venice, Milan, Turin and Rome.

Just as in Best of Youth, the film will see a theatrical release before hitting TV screens (the two-part six hour long Best of Youth was originally made for a television audience). 01 Distribution will distribute the film in Italy, and Wild Bunch will handle international sales.

The film is being made with the support of the Turin Film commission and Eurimages. Barbagallo, who was Nanni Moretti's producer for 20 years until their recent, amicable split, also produced Tullio Giordana's The Best of Youth.