Italian filmmaker Marco Bellocchio ("Fists in the Pocket", "The Traitor") is bringing to screens the turbulent life story of the late Italian television host Enzo Tortora. The first two episodes of the Max Original series, titled 'Portobello', after the show hosted by Tortora in the 1980s, are premiering at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival. Interestingly, it's also the streamer's first Italian original production. A 2026 worldwide streaming window has been announced.
Tortora started his popular show, “Portobello”, on Italian national television in 1977. Aside from the contestants presented with the challenging task of getting the show's mascot, a parrot, to say their names, the program gave viewers opportunities to make calls for enquiries about a lost relative or friend, or buy and sell products, among other things. Tortora, at the peak of professional success in the early 1980s, attained not just celebrity status but also was named Commander of the Republic by then Italian President Alessandro Pertini. Then, something terrible happened.
Giovanni Pandico, a criminal from the Camorra organisation and a religious follower of “Portobello”, decides to become an informant on the show, where he mentions, to everyone’s shock, Tortora, naming him as one of the members of the Camorra. On June 17, 1983, Tortora was arrested by the Italian police following allegations by several Camorra members, including Pandico. Long story short, it would take three long years for Tortora to be acquitted of all charges.
In the series, Tortora is played by actor Fabrizio Gifuni, who is joined by fellow cast members Lino Musella, Romana Maggiora Vergano, Barbora Bobulova, Carlotta Gamba, Alessandro Preziosi, Fausto Russo Alesi, and Salvatore D’Onofrio.
Marco Bellocchio also wrote the script with Stefano Bises, Giordana Mari, and Peppe Fiore. Francesco Di Giacomo, who has worked with Bellocchio on the films 'Kidnapped: The Abduction of Edgardo Mortara' and 'Exterior Night', is the director of photography, with editing by Francesca Calvelli, another frequent Bellocchio collaborator, who worked with him on 'The Traitor', 'Vincere', and 'The Wedding Director'.
