The Chicago Tribune/Metromix names “Summer in Genoa” one of

25 Best Films of 2010!!  Also, one of

20 Good Films You Didn’t See in 2010!!

'Summer in Genoa' review

A drama that doesn’t need a lot of talk or action to shake you up

By Matt Pais

Metromix (Chicago Tribune)
May 20, 2010 

 Critic's Rating: «««« (4 out of 5 stars!!)

"One minute Mary (Perla Haney-Jardine) has her hands over her big sister’s (Willa Holland) eyes, playing a game in the car. The next Mary’s playfully covering her mom’s eyes as she drives, resulting in an accident that kills mom (Hope Davis). A few months after the funeral, Dad (Colin Firth), a University of Chicago professor, brings his daughters to Italy for a change of scenery, where Kelly cozies up with Italian guys and Mary sees visions of her mom.

The buzz: Re-titled from “Genova” by its U.S. distributor, the latest from director/co-writer Michael Winterbottom has been around for a while, including a showing at the 2008 Toronto Film Festival. No worries; sometimes these little movies take a while to surface, and this one has the benefit of Catherine Keener, co-starring as Firth’s character’s old friend.

The verdict: The beautifully raw, wonderfully acted “Summer in Genoa” sometimes observes when it could analyze, and the film draws a bit too much suspense from children in danger. Yet many of those situations stem from the sense of drifting, numb and frozen, through life that no longer seems real after tragedy. Through guilt and sorrow you can feel the distance between these family members, and you know a movie like this is working when it holds you tight and nervous in every moment, even when very little is happening. The action is in the characters’ faces, as their bodies pretend their mind is in the same place. They know life goes on; the question is, how?"--Matt Pais, Metromix

A&E Series Premiere

The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty

Film Police has been busy lately. Line Producer Phil Koch just wrapped a brisk two-week production for Michael Winterbottom, a British director best known for directing "A Mighty Heart," the 2007 drama about the search for Daniel Pearl in Pakistan by his wife Mariane Pearl starring Angelina Jolie. Winterbottom is also notable for directing "24 Hour Party People" and "Tristam Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story" both starring British Comedian Steve Coogan. Winterbottom came to Chicago to direct introductory scenes for his latest feature film "A Summer in Genoa," a ghost story inspired by Nicolas Roeg’s 1973 thriller "Don’t Look Now" starring Colin Firth ("Bridget Jones," "Pride and Prejudice"). "Genoa" mainly takes place in Genova, Italy but Colin Firth’s character is a University of Chicago professor who has two daughters.  Phil Koch said, "Michael needed to complete a number of scenes within a tight indie-film budget and schedule. He could not afford to fly his British crew over here, in fact he traveled alone without department heads, a support staff or even an assistant. When a filmmaker of Michael’s stature travels out of his comfort zone, we have to work extra hard to ensure a smooth production and positive experience that may result in a return shoot in the future. We coordinated the casting and location scouting during pre-production and we line-produced and production managed the shoot days." Leading man Colin (modern Darcy in both "Bridget Jones" movies and period Darcy in "Pride and Prejudice") Firth was not on the Chicago call sheet. Casting Director (and Film Police co-owner) Sally Marschall was able to work with the director by email and telephone in setting up casting sessions. Veteran Film Police cinematographer Bob Long was the cameraman. Fletcher Chicago provided the camera equipment including a Sony F900 High Def camera package. Film Police was recommended to Winterbottom by a producer at BBC London who has worked with Film Police on other projects. Sally Marschall said, "Michael told us that if he had known in advance how beautiful the skyline, the downtown and the parks appear on camera, how easy and efficient it is to shoot in Chicago, and the depth of the crew and talent base, he would have scheduled more scenes here."

Cinema St. Louis presents “The Shock Doctrine” and “Summer in Genoa” at the 2010 St. Louis Film Festival!

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