Matteo Garrone’s migrant drama ‘Io Capitano’ sets cast as filming begins in Senegal

Newcomers Seydou Sarr and Moustapha Fall will lead the cast of Matteo Garrone’s new film Io Capitano, with filming underway in Dakar, the capital city of Senegal.

In Io Capitano - which translates to English as I, Captain - Sarr and Fall will play two young men who leave Dakar for Europe, embarking on a contemporary odyssey across desert and sea.

The film is based on an original idea by Garrone, taking inspiration from the stories of Kouassi Pli Adama Mamadou, Arnaud Zohin, Amara Fofana, Brhane Tareke and Siaka Doumbia – young people who have made the journey undertaken by the film’s protagonists.

Filming will run for 13 weeks, moving to Morocco and Italy after Senegal.

The script is written by Garrone, Massimo Gaudioso, Massimo Ceccherini and Andrea Tagliaferri.

It is produced by Garrone’s Italian company Archimede with Rai Cinema; with Belgium’s Tarantula Film as a co-producer. The film is backed by Pathe, which is handling world sales through Pathe International.

Io Capitano is the first time Garrone has set a feature outside of Italy; he is known for titles including 2008’s Gomorrah, which won the Grand Jury Prize in Competition at Cannes.

• FIAPF pauses accreditation for Russian film festivals “until further notice”