Annual Top Films Lists

Top 150 Most Anticipated Foreign Films of 2020: #124. Born to Be Murdered – Ferdinando Cito Filomarino

Published on December 30, 2019

Born to Be Murdered

Italy’s Ferdinando Cito Filomarino (great nephew of Luchino Visconti) looks set for an international breakout with sophomore feature Born to Be Murdered, his English language debut. Produced by Luca Guadagnino, Rodrigo Teixeira, Marco Morabito, Gabriele Moratti and Francesco Melzi d’Eril, the production is headlined by an impressive quartet of actors, including John David Washington, Alicia Vikander, Vicky Krieps and Boyd Holbrook (see fuzzy social media pic grab above). Academy Award winning composer Ryuichi Sakamoto (The Last Emperor; The Revenant) provides the score while cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom (Uncle Boonmme, Who Can Recall His Past Lives, Call Me by Your Name, Suspiria) lenses. Regular Guadagnino collaborator Walter Fasano will be editing. Filomarino’s 2010 short “Diarchia” snagged an Honorable Mention at Sundance and the Pianifica Award at Locarno. His 2015 debut Antonia. competed in Karlovy Vary and won a Special Mention.

Gist: Set in Athens and written by Kevin Rice, Washington and Vikander play a vacationing couple who fall prey to a violent conspiracy.

Release Date/Prediction: Filmed in Greece in April/May 2019, Born to Be Murdered could score a premiere in Berlin.

Nicholas Bell

Los Angeles based Nicholas Bell is IONCINEMA.com's Chief Film Critic and covers film festivals such as Sundance, Berlin, Cannes and TIFF. He is part of the critic groups on Rotten Tomatoes, The Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA), the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) and GALECA. His top 3 for 2021: France (Bruno Dumont), Passing (Rebecca Hall) and Nightmare Alley (Guillermo Del Toro). He was a jury member at the 2019 Cleveland International Film Festival.