DUINO, the Award-Winning Debut Feature by Juan Pablo Di Pace and Andrés Pepe Estrada, Will Have Its Highly Anticipated New York Premiere at NewFest, October 10-22, 2024
From the Late Norman Lear and Brent Miller, This Heartfelt and Spellbinding Tale Is a Celebration of Longing for the First Love, Friendship, and Family Bonds
Previous to His NY Premiere, Co-Director and Protagonist Juan Pablo Di Pace Will Debut His New One-Man Show at 54 Below on October 4-5
Duino, the acclaimed and award-winning debut feature from actor-singer Juan Pablo Di Pace (Mamma Mia! The Movie) and editor Andrés Pepe Estrada (Argentina, 1985), executive produced by the late television legend Norman Lear and Brent Miller, will have its highly anticipated New York premiere at the 36th edition of NewFest: New York’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Film Festival on Saturday, October 12, at the SVA Theater, with streaming available from October 10-22 on the festival’s platform.
This spellbinding and self-reflexive tale follows Matias (played by Di Pace himself), an Argentine filmmaker struggling with an unfinished movie inspired by his elusive first love—a Swedish friend he met at a boarding school in 1997. Their strong friendship is defined by tenderness and fascination but is abruptly cut short when Alexander is suddenly expelled, leaving young Matias with a story of undeclared emotions.
Twenty-five years later, Matias decides to reopen Pandora’s box, coming face-to-face with Alexander and discovering life imitating art as he confronts the sneaky power of memory. By revisiting his past, Matias might find a new ending to the story of unrequited first love.
Duino, named after the picturesque Italian coastal town where both the fictional boarding school is located, had its world premiere at the Turin Lovers Film Festival—the oldest LGBT-themed festival in Europe—where it won the Young Lovers Jury, Matthew Shepard Award and the Audience Award. The film also received the Best International Feature Film Award at the Rio LGBTQIA+ Film Festival in Brazil and had a successful North American theatrical premiere at Frameline: San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival.
Ahead of his New York premiere, Di Pace will debut his new one-man show at 54 Below on October 4-5, paying tribute to iconic songs from Cole Porter, Stephen Sondheim, Kander & Ebb, and the Bee Gees—along with his own original compositions.
Duino is a visual and emotional tour de force that celebrates the beauty of friendship, the intensity of love, and the formative experience of growing up and finding family acceptance. Drawing deeply from his own life, Di Pace crafts a story that movingly captures the universal ache of first love and its lasting impact.
Through the use of flashbacks and a clever meta-narrative, the film reimagines the classic gay coming-of-age tale, offering audiences a fresh and deeply personal take on passionate memories of a lover who remains just out of reach. Tender and evocative, Duino is both a heartfelt exploration of unrequited love and an emotional journey of self-discovery.
DUINO. USA/Argentina/Italy, 2024, 108 min. In English and Spanish with English subtitles. Directed, edited and story: Juan Pablo Di Pace and Andrés Pepe Estrada; Original screenplay: Juan Pablo Di Pace; Producers: Guillermo Escalona, Alvaro Valente, Amanda Lenker Doyle, Juan Pablo Di Pace; Executive producers: Norman Lear, Brent Miller, Stephanie Slack, Margret Huddleston; Massimiliano Milic; Gonzalo Lopez Jordan; Tom Hayes and Jim Burba, Kent Robert Gibbons; Co-Producers: Martin Granados, Juan Gorelik, Valentina Bach, Roberta Ghedini, Lini Evans; Casting: Amanda Lenker Doyle, CSA; Associate Producers: Bobby Ralston, Khaled Habayeb, Jeff Brodsly, Milan Adam, Vittorio Di Pace, Marta Maineri; Director of Photography: Devin Doyle; Original Score: Sindri Sigfusson & Kjartan Holm; Music Supervisors: Amine Ramer Colm O’Herlihy; Original Songs:: Dorian Dionisi; Production & Costume Designer: Marta Maineri. Cast: Juan Pablo Di Pace (Matias), Santiago Madrussan (Young Matias), Oscar Morgan (Young Alexander), August Wittgenstein (Alexander), Julia Bender (Young Kathrine), Kathrine (Krista Kosonen).
About the Directors:
Juan Pablo Di Pace(Co-Director, Co-Writer, Co-Editor, Producer, and Protagonist)
Juan Pablo is an Argentine/Italian director and actor, who has been developing an artistic language across film, music and dance since graduating from London Studio Centre and the Uta Hagen Studio in New York in 2002. His acting credits include the Award-winning portrayal of Jesus Christ in A.D. The Bible Continues (NBC), Mamma Mia! The Movie! (Universal) alongside Meryl Streep and Colin Firth, Fuller House (Netflix), the upcoming The Bad Girl (VIX+) and The Mattachin Family. As a director he has created and produced the series. Before moving to the USA, he has worked on theater and film in Europe, including Boléro (Maurice Béjart), Chicago, the Musical (London), Aftersun (BBC UK), Tutti intorno a Linda (Italy), Saturday Night Fever (Spanish Broadway). Duino is Juan Pablo’s debut feature as director with his long time collaborator Andrés Pepe Estrada.
Andrés Pepe Estrada (Co-Director, Co-Writer, Co-Editor)
Andrés is a Spanish director/composer/editor living in Buenos Aires. He studied Film at the Buenos Aires Film University and in Rome’s Cinecittá. Andres edited Santiago Mitre’s Argentina, 1985, which recently won the Venice Film Critics’ Prize 2022, the Golden Globes and was nominated for Best Foreign Film at the Academy Awards. Since 2002 he has worked extensively as a film editor in many of Latin American staple films like White Elephant (Pablo Trapero, Cannes Official Selection 2012), The Summit (Santiago Mitre, Cannes Official Selection 2017), Some Girls (Santiago Palavecino, Venice Official Selection 2013), Alanis (Winner Best film at the San Sebastian Film Festival 2017) and Die Monster Die (Alejandro Fadel, Cannes Official Selection 2018). He also worked in the editing team of Tetro by Francis Ford Coppola.