Capital Motion Picture Group has picked up North American rights to the Italian cycling biopic The Pantani Affair, about the mystery surrounding the decline and death of legendary Italian Tour de France and Giro d’Italia winner Marco Pantani, who died tragically at the age of 34.
Iuvit Media Sales, which is handling world sales on the film, also inked a deal with Factoris Films via Amadeus Entertainment for French rights to the movie, which is selling at the online-only European Film Market this week.
Directed by Domenico Ciolfi (Passaggio a vuoto), The Pantani Affair traces the last five years in Pantani’s life, focusing on the events surrounding a doping scandal during the 1999 Giro d’Italia cycling race and Pantani’s decline until his death in 2004.
Pantani was considered one of the greatest cyclists of all time and won both the Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia in the same year (1998). Although he never tested positive for drugs, Pantani’s career was beset by doping allegations, and he was expelled from the 1999 Giro d’Italia after a test showed up irregular blood values, allegedly due to the use of the banned substance EPO. Pantani’s official cause of death was acute cocaine poising, but multiple conspiracy theories have sprung up offering alternative reasons behind his demise.
Three different Italian actors play Pantani in the film: Marco Palvetti (Gomorrah), Brenno Placido (Romanzo Criminale) and Fabrizio Rongione (Two Days). Libero De Rienzo (The Two Popes), Francesco Pannofino (Boris), Gianfelice Imparato (Il Divo) and Monica Camporesi (The Adventures of Sally) co-star.
Mr Arkadin Film produced The Pantani Affair in collaboration with Bper Banca. Koch Media bowed the movie in Italy in 2020.
