Argomenti trattati
The small, nocturnal road movie Le città di pianura by Francesco Sossai has quietly reshaped the way we look at regional cinema. First noticed at Cannes 2026, the film mixes melancholy and dry humor while using the Veneto plain not as a backdrop but as an active presence. The story of two disoriented fifty-somethings and a younger student unfolds along provincial roads, in tired bars and at emblematic landmarks, making the territory itself feel like a fourth protagonist. Viewers and critics followed its festival run and then watched it gather momentum at the national awards, where it dominated discussions ahead of the David di Donatello 2026 nominations.
What the film is about and why the locations matter
Le città di pianura centers on Carlobianchi and Doriano, played by Pierpaolo Capovilla and Sergio Romano, two aimless friends on a ritualized night drive in search of one more drink. Their encounter with Giulio (Filippo Scotti), a thoughtful architecture student, becomes the catalyst for a subtle coming-of-age in reverse: older men forced to re-evaluate their habits, and a young man whose worldview shifts by watching them. The movie functions as an on the road narrative that is both intimate and expansive: it uses the textures of everyday spaces—service-station light, bar counters, empty piazzas—to explore themes of friendship, time and belonging. The locations are deliberately ordinary; their ordinariness is precisely the point.
Key filming sites across the Veneto and what they add
The production mapped a wide arc through the Veneto, privileging authenticity over stereotype. Camera teams worked in towns such as Sedico, Feltre and Cesiomaggiore in Belluno province, and in Cadoneghe and Brugine near Padua, while the route also passes through Noale and Chioggia and even into parts of Venice—notably Santa Croce and the Tolentini area. Each stop contributes atmosphere: the high plain and mountain foothills bring a sense of suspended time, small-town bars give texture to the characters’ rituals, and coastal towns introduce a salt-tinged melancholy. The film’s visual identity depends on this variety, creating a patchwork portrait of a region in flux.
The Memoriale Brion and symbolic closure
One of the film’s most striking choices is the inclusion of the Memoriale Brion in San Vito di Altivole. This contemplative site, designed by Carlo Scarpa, becomes a place of reflection and narrative resolution. In the film, the memorial functions like a mirror: its architecture refracts themes of memory, loss and the passage of time. The scene staged there feels almost ritualistic, turning a real-world monument into a cinematic signpost that helps conclude the characters’ nocturnal odyssey.
Award recognition and the regional ripple effect
After its festival exposure at Cannes 2026, the film emerged as one of the season’s surprises by collecting a remarkable 16 nominations at the David di Donatello 2026. The list includes major categories such as best film, best direction, best original screenplay (written by Sossai and Adriano Candiago), and acting nods for the two leads. This level of recognition elevated not only Sossai’s work but spotlighted a cluster of Veneto productions supported by regional funding and an active Film Commission. The momentum underscores how targeted investment and a coherent strategy can convert local stories into national conversation pieces.
Veneto cinema in a broader context
The success of Sossai’s film did not appear in isolation. Other Veneto-related titles like Pietro Marcello’s Duse and Damiano Michieletto’s Primavera also received multiple nominations, reinforcing an unexpected regional prominence at the awards. Producers and local cultural leaders noted how a coordinated approach—combining finance, locations and promotion—helped cultivate a small but visible wave of films that travel the festival circuit and bring attention back to the territory that made them. In this sense, the films form a conversation about place, identity and the possibilities of non-metropolitan storytelling.
How visitors can follow the film’s trail
For travelers keen to explore the movie’s tangible map, the route offers a mix of familiar and offbeat stops. Start with the mountain towns in Belluno to feel the movie’s quieter moods, then drive through Padua-area villages to experience the provincial bars and roadside scenes that anchor many sequences. A detour to Noale or Chioggia provides coastal contrasts, while a visit to Venice’s Santa Croce and the Tolentini area reconnects the journey with the city’s urban textures. Finally, plan time at the Memoriale Brion for the contemplative payoff: the site functions both as architectural landmark and as a cinematic waypoint.
Whether you approach it as a film pilgrim or as someone interested in contemporary Italian cinema, tracing these locations offers a way to experience the film’s themes in the real world. The combination of everyday settings and careful filmmaking has turned Le città di pianura into a case study in how landscape can carry narrative weight, and why regional cinema deserves attention on both festival lists and travel itineraries.