EXCLUSIVE: Rai Cinema International Distribution has unveiled a slew of pre-sales on its EFM slate, including films by leading Italian directors such as Gabriele Muccino and Paolo Genovese.
Ahead of EFM, Muccino’s relationship drama Things We Don’t Say, which has topped the Italian box office for the past two weekends, has pre-sold to Greece’s Dream Team Films, the Baltics’ Best Films and Switzerland’s MFD. Muccino is known for international hit The Pursuit Of Happyness starring Will Smith.
Perfect Strangers director Genovese’s next film, Il Rumore delle Cose Nuove, has just wrapped filming. It has secured deals in Hungary (Vertigo Media), Poland (Aurora), former Yugoslavia (Kino Mediterran), as well as Greece and Cyprus (Dream Team Films). It is based on the 2023 novel by Genovese, which centres on three families. “The strength of the script…has enabled us to secure multiple deals,” said Fulvio Firrito, head of international sales at Rai Cinema International Distribution.
Rai’s slate also includes Greta Scarano’s Siblings, winner of the young audience prize at the 2026 European Film Awards. Since then, it has secured distribution in Poland (Bomba Film), South Korea (Il Media), and Taiwan, Germany and Switzerland (Spafax Airlines).
Fabio De Luigi’s comedy A Good Day has also pre-sold in Switzerland to MFD.
Rai’s EFM slate also includes Belgian director Manon Coubia’s debut feature Forest High, which world premieres in the Berlinale’s Perspectives programme. The film - about three women who take turns tending a mountain hut in the northern Alps - is the first non-Italian title to join the Rai Cinema International Distribution slate, part of a move by the Italian sales company to establish its presence in the international marketplace.
“Forest High is a remarkable debut: bold, distinctive, and deeply resonant. Manon Coubia has a real voice, and I’m convinced we’ll be hearing much more from her in the years ahead,” said Firrito. “Our core mission remains the same: championing Italian cinema internationally. That said, we’re not ruling out taking on more fully international titles in the future, provided they fit our product strategy and genuinely add value to the slate.”
Also on Rai’s slate is Greenworld, by Russian director Victor Kossakovsky, whose Oscar shortlisted works include Aquarela and Gunda. It features renowned botanist Stefano Mancuso in an immersive journey about the natural world.
Ni primera ni dama, directed by Barbara Cupisti, centres on Irina Karamanos, the former partner of Chile’s president Gabriel Boric. “She challenged and effectively dismantled the traditional role of First Lady, making her a fascinating and provocative figure for our times,” explained Firrito.
Idda, directed by Irene Dioniso, stars Tecla Insolia, a 2026 European Shooting Star at the Berlinale, alongside Romana Maggiora Vergano.
Roberta Torre’s documentary Le Angelesse centres on the days leading up to Christmas in prison.
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