Francesco Costabile’s dark melodrama “Familia” has been designated as Italy ’s candidate for the best international feature film category of the 2026 Academy Awards.

“Familia,” which weaves together elements of psychological thriller and social commentary and launched from the 2024 from the Venice Film Festival was a somewhat surprising choice. Several other candidates among the 24 titles in the running to be designated made their debut in competition at Venice this year including Gianfranco Rosi’s doc “Below the Clouds,” which won the Special Jury Prize at Venice. Other submissions in the running that recently launched from the lido and were considered frontrunners included Pietro Marcello’s “Duse,” starring Valeria Bruni Tedeschi as legendary actress Eleonora Duse, and Leonardo Di Cos

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