Abel Ferrara's 'Pasolini' Starring Willem Dafoe Will Finally Get A US Release 5 Years After Its Premiere

It’s been almost 5 years since filmmaker Abel Ferrara debuted his film “Pasolini” at the Venice Film Festival in 2014. Since then, the film has hit theaters in Europe and around the world. Well, all around the world, minus the United States. And thanks to the folks at Kino Lorber, the biopic starring Willem Dafoe will finally get its release in the US in May.

For those not familiar with the film (or just plain forgot about it after all this time), “Pasolini” documents the final moments of the life of filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini. The filmmaker is probably most well-known for his film, “Salò” (aka “The 120 Days of Sodom”), which is based on the novel by Marquis de Sade. “Salò” is often regarded as one of the most disturbing films ever created, but its the life of its filmmaker Pasolini that provides the drama of the biopic from Ferrara. After completion of the aforementioned film, the director was brutally murdered and the circumstances of his murder were debated for decades after.

“Pasolini” stars Dafoe as the titular filmmaker, alongside Maria de Medeiros, Riccardo Scamarcio, and Ninetto Davoli. As mentioned, the film was directed by Ferrara and written by Maurizio Braucci.

The film will have its US theatrical premiere in New York, at The Metrograph, on May 10. A VOD and home release will be coming in the fall.

Here’s the synopsis:

Pasolini stars Willem Dafoe as Italian writer and film director Pier Paolo Pasolini and chronicles his final hours after completing his controversial classic, Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom, leading up to this brutal murder on the beach in Ostia in 1975. Facing resistance from the public, politicians and press, he visits with friends and family, including actress Laura Betti (played by Maria de Madeiros) and persists on working on an ambitious new novel and screenplay (brought to life in Pasolini’s imagination with gays and lesbians coming together to procreate in one startling, eye opening sequence) – all the while cruising in his Alfa Romeo for connections with beautiful younger males in the dark streets of Rome.