Copyright Variety
For Milan-based producer Massimo Fabbro, the upcoming U.S. release of “Trifole” — which he calls “this tiny film from a tiny corner of Italy” — marks a feat on a par with scoring the mythically rare white truffle at the core of the ultra-indie drama. On Nov. 14, Cohen Media Group will launch the English- and Italian-language film at the Quad Cinema in New York and in Los Angeles and other U.S. cities, totalling roughly 150 screens. “Trifole,” which is the sophomore feature of Gabriele Fabbro — who is the producer’s son — was shot in Italy’s Piedmont region on a shoestring budget of €1.4 million ($1.6 million). The project stems from the director’s gastronomic passion for white truffle and its connection with terroir and tradition. The storyline — based on years of research around the city of Alba, in the heart of northwestern Piedmont, where the rare white truffle grows — revolves around an elderly truffle hunter named Igor played by Italian stage and screen legend Umberto Orsini (“The Damned”) who is losing his mental grip. His granddaughter Dalia (newcomer Ydalie Turk) arrives from London tasked with caring for Igor. She becomes drawn into his passion for truffle hunting, which then becomes a necessity after Dalia realizes Igor is about to lose his home due to an “accounting oversight,” as the synopsis puts it. Dalia embarks on a quest to find a legendary truffle that could save the situation guided by Igor’s field notes and his faithful dog Birba, played by a real truffle-hunting pooch. The “Trifole” cast is rounded out by Margherita Buy — known internationally for frequent roles in Nanni Moretti movies, most recently in “A Brighter Tomorrow” — who plays Dalia’s mother Marta. Financing “Trifole” was what Massimo Fabbro calls a “creative process” in which “we worked hard to attract private investors, most of whom were from the region itself,” alongside local institutions from Alba and the Piedmont Film Commission. “It felt like the territory wanted this story told,” he said. Principal photography ran for four weeks in November and December 2023. Despite a limited budget, Fabbro and his partners hired a full symphonic orchestra to record the “Trifole” score, which comprises classical works by Ottorino Respighi, Sergei Rachmaninoff and Gioacchino Rossini, among others. Besides Fabbro, the other producers on “Trifole” are Casey Diepeveen, Mattia Puleo and John Humber. During post-production, the “Trifole” team focused on festival outreach and building rapports with distributors. A turning point came during the 2024 European Film Market, where they entered talks with Italy’s Officine UBU, leading to a micro Italian theatrical release on less than 30 screens on Oct. 17, 2024, that yielded $76.740, according to Box Office Mojo. Subsequent invitations to the Palm Springs and Santa Barbara film festivals opened doors to other U.S. fests, including Miami, Sonoma and Phoenix, generating some U.S. media attention. These festival screenings, combined with the Italian release and positive critical response, led to Cohen Media Group acquiring U.S. distribution rights. “Trifole” is the latest Italian film release from Cohen Media Group, following the company’s launch of the 2024 Oscar- and Golden Globe-nominated “Io Capitano” by Matteo Garrone. “Trifole” is also set to be released theatrically in Australia and New Zealand via Hi Gloss Entertainment. “One thing we’ve been firm on is that we don’t want to go straight to streaming,” says Gabriele Fabbro. “We want to work with distributors who still believe that cinema should be experienced in theaters. Every partner we’ve chosen shares that vision.”
