Mei, a mysterious young Chinese woman, arrives in Rome to look for her sister, who has disappeared. Marcello is a cook at his family’s restaurant, where he and his mother Lorena try to work off debts left by his father Alfredo, who has gone off with another woman. When their paths cross, Mei and Marcello combat deep-rooted cultural biases and sworn enemies, in a battle in which vendetta and love go hand in hand.
screenplay
Stefano Bises
Gabriele Mainetti
Davide Serino
cinematography
Paolo Carnera
editing
Francesco Di Stefano
music
Fabio Amurri
production design
Andrea Castorina
costumes
Susanna Mastroianni
cast
Enrico Borello (Marcello)
Yaxi Liu (Mei)
Marco Giallini (Annibale)
Sabrina Ferilli (Lorena)
Chunyu Shanshan
(Mr. Wang)
Luca Zingaretti (Alfredo)
executive producers
Saverio Guarascio
Mandela Quilici
Gianluca Mizzi
Claudio Falconi
producer
Sonia Rovai
producers
Mario Gianani
Lorenzo Gangarossa
productions
Wildside
PiperFilm
Goon Films
Italian distribution
PiperFilm
info@piper.film
www.piper.film
Gabriele Mainetti is a director, actor, composer, and film producer. After making the short films Basette and Tiger Boy, the latter shortlisted for the Academy Awards’ Live Action Short Film prize, in 2015 he directed and produced They Call Me Jeeg with his Goon Films. The title garnered seven David di Donatello awards, two Silver Ribbons, four Ciak d’Oro prizes, and the Globo d’Oro, among many others. In 2021, Mainetti directed and produced Freaks Out. This time, as well, after its premiere in competition at the Venice Film Festival, the film went on to receive an array of awards, including six David di Donatellos, three Silver Ribbons, and the Audience Award at the Rotterdam Festival. La città proibita is his third feature film.
2025 La città proibita
2021 Freaks Out
2015 Lo chiamavano Jeeg Robot
2012 Tiger Boy (short)
2006 Basette (short)
