The true story of the Italian gang of outlaws Sergio Leone wanted to tell: men bound to change history, then forgotten. Until today.
When Maestro Sergio Leone invented the “Western à la Italiana” genre, late in 1960, He could not talk about Italy because no one would have taken seriously a story of outlaws not set in the USA. He and his crew went as far as changing their names to English pseudonyms in order to seem more credible. We strongly believe that, were He alive, he would have probably recounted the story of The Grossi Gang and his leader Terenzio, one that had the courage to speak when everybody else was keeping their mouth shut.
[EN] A true story, almost forgotten, about a bunch of outlaws than in 1860 ravaged Central Italy, led by a fierce and irreverent gang leader, one that had the courage to speak while everybody else was keeping its mouth shut. This is the story of Terenzio Grossi and his gang, a story being recounted by word of mouth for generations that we now want the whole world to know in the form of a two hours feature film. A story about the men that had the chance of changing Italian history and were too soon forgotten.
[IT] Una storia vera quasi dimenticata, vicende tramandate oralmente per generazioni sullo sfondo di una terra difficile, le Marche, e che hanno tutti i connotati epici e romantici per poter intrattenere il grande pubblico internazionale. Un’emblematica banda di briganti che nel 1860mise a ferro e fuoco la provincia di Pesaro e Urbino con omicidi, grassazioni, violenze e furti d’ogni tipo, guidata da un capobanda fiero e irriverente, uno che ha alzato la testa in un momento in cui tutti tacevano. Una storia che parla di uomini destinati a cambiare la storia, poi dimenticati. Che grazie a te potrebbero tornare a parlare.
Central italy, 1860. A real story of crime, passion and betrayals focused on a young villager who manages to form a gang composed of young rebels, his goal to try and revolt against the newly formed Piedmont State. Things are moving fast in this historic context: illuminism is spreading to Italy after French Revolution and the country is going to be unified. Social unrest and poverty are spreading wildly, fostered by ever increasing taxes and the newly introduced mandatory draft by the army. In the small town of Urbania, 27 years old Terenzio Grossi can’t stand this situation: he wants his chance to fight against a future that someone else has already written for him. He then shoulders his musket and manages to gather around him a small gang of young rebels. Disillusioned with politics, hungered by ever-increasing taxes and unwilling to participate to mandatory draft by the army, the gang will seize the Pesaro and Urbino Provincewith the help of a growingly restless and angry population. In two years of crimes, violences and murders at the expenses of the richest and noblest, the gang will rise to its fortune in spite of coward and unprepared local authorities. Only one soldier will pick up the fight and stand fearless in the line of duty: a brigadier of the Royal Carabinieri determined to capture Terenzio and his gang mates at any cost. An irrepressible man of great integrity, the Brigadier will have to grow aware of the poor conditions of the villagers of the area and when law will start making compromises in the fight against crime his conscience and uprightness will be challenged.
TERENZIO GROSSI – the leader | played by Camillo Ciorciaro
[EN] He was a soldier with Garibaldi, then turned to outlaw and then again became a hero of the Marche people. He will be the voice of the poor revolting against the new Piedmont State government. Fierce and bold, he would give his life for his gang mates.
[IT] Prima soldato garibaldino, poi bandito, infine eroe del proletariato marchigiano… Sarà la voce del popolo in rivolta contro il nuovo governo piemontese. Fiero e intraprendente, darebbe la vita pur di non tradire i suoi compagni.
SANTE FRONTINI – the unforgiven | played by Rosario DiGiovanna
[EN] Noisy, irreverent, often drunk. He was violent since he was a child (one day he took one’s eyes off just because the poor had the courage to stare him). He is the right arm of Terenzio. With Sante you’d better pay attention to what you say, even when joking.
[IT] Sfrontato, chiassoso, irriverente, ubriaco, molesto… Violento sin da bambino, un giorno cavò gli occhi a un passante solo per averlo guardato. Braccio destro di Terenzio Grossi, con Sante bisogna stare attenti, anche quando si scherza in allegria…
OLINTO VENTURI – the handsome | played by Leonardo Ventura
[EN] Trusty work-horse of Terenzio, he abandoned his wife at their wedding to follow Terenzio! Very good shooter as he is, it’s better to stay on his side when bullet starts flying.
[IT] Fidato gregario del capobanda, abbandonò la moglie la sera stessa del suo matrimonio pur di seguire Terenzio. Abile con lo schioppo, quando si spara è meglio stare dalla sua parte…
BIAGIO OLMEDA – the smart | played by Manuel D’Amario
[EN] A seasoned rascal, he boasts that he has never ended up in jail. When the time for running comes, Biagio doesn’t think twice…
[IT] Esperto furfante ultimo di una famiglia di delinquenti, si vanta di non essere mai finito in gabbia. Quando è ora di darsela a gambe, Biagio gioca sempre d’anticipo…
GIUSEPPE ALUNNI – the greedy | played by Edoardo Raggetta
[EN] The sharp dressed man of the gang, he shoots with a marvelous American made “Sharps” rifle that give him a terrific advantage over the Carabinieri. His interest is much more focused on taking plunders here and there than on the cause.
[IT] Di lusso vestito, spara con un prodigioso e innovativo fucile a canna rigata. Indifferente alla causa, per lui contano solo i soldi.
LUIGI TREBBI – the ambitious | played by Cristian Marletta
[EN] Small as he is, he tries his best to show off. His desire to be noted by Terenzio is second only to his hate towards Sante.
[IT] Basso di statura, cerca in tutti i modi di mettersi in mostra. Il desiderio di farsi notare dal capo è pari solo all’odio per Frontini. Odio più che ricambiato…
PIETRO PANDOLFI – the wretch | played by Mateo Çili
[EN] Peaceful, unlucky and alone, he entertains his gang mates by playing accordion. He doesn’t like fighting too much and handing muskets, he instead prefers the bottle.
[IT] Pacifico, sfortunato e solo al mondo, intrattiene gli altri suonando l’organetto. Sempre in disparte quando si spara, agli schioppi preferisce la bottiglia.
Claudio Ripalti – DIRECTOR, SCREENWRITER 27 years old, Claudio is a film-maker in the commercials and advertising industry, co-founder of Cinestudio video-production company. He has been working for more than 5 years for a number of agencies, producing advertisings and commercials. In 2013 he directed a short-film, Diari dalla Terza Era, on of the first experimentation of the fantasy genre in Italy.
Daniela Cancellieri – COSTUME DESIGNER 25 years old and a degree in Fashion and Costumes Design at the University of Urbino, Daniela also took a second level master bachelor at the world renowned Secoli Next Fashion School. In 2013, with less than 1.000 Euros she has managed to create all the costumes for the short film “Diari dalla Terza Era”.
Elena Cancellieri – CASTING DIRECTOR 31 years old, earned a degree in Foreing Languages and Literatures at the University of Urbino. In 2008 and 2009 she has been head and editor-in-chief of the arts magazine “Aperitivo Illustrato”. She now is the art director for the drama company “Voci tra le Quinte”
Michele Olivieri – EDITING 34 years old, has a 10 years long experience in editing and post-production, working with movies, commercials and documentaries. He has worked in artistic projects with Davide Caporaletti, Peppino Saponara, Luca Pagliari and is now working with fashion firm Dondup.
Enrico Ripalti – COMPOSER 30 years old, founder and Web Designer at Cinestudio, a degree in Information Technology at University of Urbino. Earned a degree in Piano and has worked as a poly-instrumentalist for movies, theater dramas and for the trip-hop act “Chill Filtered”, whose album “Manifesting the Vice (2011)” (available at iTunes) is considered a corner-stone of Italian trip-hop scene.
Italia Cipriani – ADDITIONAL SCORES 29 years old, with a second level degree in painting at the Fine Arts Academy of Urbino and a degree in Classical Singing at the Conservatorio G. Rossini of Pesaro. Has lent her voice to many musical production for Italian public broadcast TV “RAI”.
Francesco Conti – KEY GRIP 23 years old, is a freelance photographer based in London, mainly working in action and events photography.
Fabio Marcheggiani – ELECTRICIAN 29 years old, has a degree in Information Technology at the University of Urbino and in Photography at the LABA Institute of Rimini. Since 2011 he is working as a freelance photographer.
Michele Petrucci – STORYBOARD 43 years old, Illustrator and graphic novels painter, has published many books, most of which translated into French and English. He is also working for national press and newspapers.
Marco Genga – PRODUCTION SUPERVISOR 35 years old has a degree in Foreign Languages at the University of Urbino, works as a space planner and Interior Designer. He is also a Set Designer and Decorator for drama companies.
Debora Marini – BACKSTAGE 27 years old, a degree in photography at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rimini. Has worked in many reportages and art productions.
Massimo Zandri – DRONE OPERATOR 46 years old, a teacher at the University of Urbino and at ITIS E. Mattei. He also works freelance in the electronic engineering industry.
Aurelio Cerioni – MAKE UP 49 years, hair stylist and owner of the “Cerioni” hair saloons franchise.
Scheduling of film production has been divided in 4 phases: pre-production, production, post-production and distribution. Phase 1 has covered Casting and Scouting processes: starting in August 2015 has been accomplished in March 2016. Phase 1 also comprised costumes designing and manufacturing, interior decoration (furnitures) scouting and the shooting of the 3 and a half minutes trailer you have seen above. Part of the original scores for the trailer have been produced in this phase as well. Phase 2 consists of movie production, comprising 35 days of actual shooting set in April and May 2017. Phase 3 includes video editing, audio and dialogues editing and music scoring. Also includes 2d and 3d CGI editing and final mastering and encoding. This phase will be accomplished within October 2017. Phase 4 is the actual distribution to cinemas and distributors. This delivery may vary depending on the distribution media (Netflix, Mediaset, Sky, Vimeo on Demand…).
La tempistica per la realizzazione del film è da suddividere in quattro fasi: pre-produzione, produzione, post-produzione e distribuzione. La prima fase di pre-produzione comprende il casting, lo scouting delle location, la realizzazione dei costumi originali, il reperimento degli accessori e degli oggetti di scena, la produzione di quattro giorni di riprese per alcuni minuti di filmato che assumerebbe di fatto la forma di “pilota”. Questa prima fase si è conclusa a marzo 2016. La seconda fase è la produzione vera e propria del film ed è composta da 35 giorni continui di riprese nei mesi di aprile/maggio 2017 (circa). La terza fase di post-produzione interessa il montaggio, la composizione 2d e 3d e l’elaborazione in computer grafica, la correzione colore, la composizione delle colonne sonore, il sound design, il mastering e l’encoding finale. Questa fase è da concludersi entro il mese di ottobre 2017. L’ultima fase è la distribuzione cinematografica. I tempi, la forma e le modalità di distribuzione saranno variabili a seconda del target di distribuzione, ad esempio network televisivi (Sky, Rai, Mediaset ecc..), piattaforme web on demand (Vimeo, Netflix, iTunes ecc…) e cinema.
Production of the movie will be accomplished by integrating the already available budget with the funds raised by this crowdfunding, which represent 35% of the total amount. Being an indie production, we manage to produce such a film at a fraction of the costs a conventional production company would require: we accomplish this by offsetting sheer budget power with strong motivation, passion and will to succeed in bringing this fantastic story to a worldwide audience. Crowdfunding budget will be used for transfers, accommodation, rentals, eating and consumables.
La produzione del film avverrà integrando il budget già disponibile con quello raccolto tramite le vostre donazioni, la cui somma (50.000 €) rappresenta il 35% del totale del budget di produzione. Essendo una produzione indipendente, siamo in grado di produrre un film come questo ad un costo nettamente inferiore a quello che richiederebbe una produzione convenzionale. Questo perché possediamo tutti i mezzi e gli strumenti tecnici e, soprattutto, siamo in grado di compensare la mancanza di un budget tipico con la forza di volontà, la passione, l’entusiasmo e la voglia di riuscire. I soldi che donerete saranno utilizzati per: noleggi, trasporti, pernottamenti e affitti, vitto, spese vive di produzione e materiale di consumo.
Should the project be over-funded, we have set a stretch goal at 30% above the main goal which will allow us to do a complete dubbing in english of the movie, instead of using subtitles.
[EN] Qualora la raccolta fondi superasse l’obiettivo minimo (50.000 €), utilizzeremo i fondi in più per doppiare il film in inglese. Per farlo, sarà necessario raggiungere il 30% in più del budget obiettivo.
[EN] Shooting locations have undergone a thorough scouting process meant to discover the most fascinating and inspiring place of the Marche area, and in particular the “Pesaro and Urbino” province. Such locations include the Furlo Pass, Catria and Nerone mountains as well as Pietralata, Cagli, Isola del Piano, Sant’Angelo in Vado, Urbania, Fermignano, Fossombrone,Acqualagna, Pesaro, Urbino, Pergola, Petriano, Mercatello, Vallefoglia, Piobbico, Fano,Apecchio, San Leo.
[IT] Nel loro complesso, le location si trovano nei comuni di Pesaro, Fano, Urbino, Fermignano, Acqualagna, Urbania, Sant’Angelo in Vado, Borgo Pace, Isola del Piano, Cagli, Fossombrone, Frontone, Pergola, Petriano, Mercatello.
After a 16 moth long research of official documents we have written a powerful, daring screenplay based on actual facts that has the power to capture the interest and imagination of a broad audience with a two hours feature film. We have a cast and a crew of young professionals, all operating in the movie industry with the necessary knowledge and experience. We have a partnership with Cinestudio that will provide facilities, gear and equipments. We have already made the costumes for the main characters and got our hands on most of the set design material. WE NOW NEED YOUR HELP TO GET TO WORK AND BRING THIS PROJECT TO LIFE
Dopo 16 mesi di ricerca nei documenti ufficiali e di stesura dello script abbiamo una sceneggiatura per il cinema, potente, audace, che si basa sulla vicenda realmente accaduta di Terenzio Grossi e che ha tutti gli elementi per intrattenere il grande pubblico in due ore di film. Abbiamo un cast e una crew di giovani professionisti del settore con competenze specifiche ed esperienza; abbiamo la partnership di uno studio di produzione (Cinestudio) che fornisce attrezzature e impianti; abbiamo già realizzato i costumi dei personaggi principali e reperito parte degli arredamenti e delle scenografie; ora ci serve il vostro aiuto per metterci al lavoro e dare vita a questo imponente progetto!
[EN] Every film, no matter how big or small the production is, has its own set of unique challenges and The Grossi Gang is no different in that respect.
However, in our past we’ve always met deadlines, and we’ve been entirely on-schedule for this production as well.
The production team behind the project has a passion and desire to see this film accomplished and has taken measures to offset any nasty surprises. One of our biggest challenges to overcome is raising all the remaining financing budget required to make this film, and this is where you all come in.
[IT] Ogni progetto cinematografico, indipendentemente dalla portata e dalle dimensioni, porta con sé una serie di sfide ostacoli. La Banda Grossi non fa eccezione. Abbiamo però una grande esperienza nel rispettare le pianificazioni di produzione e siamo sempre stati puntuali anche nella produzione di quanto avete visto.
Il team di produzione dietro al progetto ha una smodata passione (e desiderio!) di vedere questo film venire alla luce e abbiamo preso ogni precauzione per prevenire i rischi. Uno dei più grandi ostacoli è completare il budget di produzione ed è qui che tutti voi, grazie a questa raccolta fondi, entrate in gioco.