Private Project

Being Italian with Signora Enrica

Abandoned with a son by her husband years ago, Signora Enrica is notorious in her native Rimini for refusing to allow any men into her house ever since. She rents out rooms to female students, while also working as a tailor and at the market. She decides to make an exception to her age-old rule for Ekin, a Turkish student who comes to her house.

Though Ekin doesn’t speak Italian, he falls in love with Valentina, another tenant in the house, and seeks ways of communicating with her. Signora Enrica teaches Ekin Italian, dancing, and the subtleties of Italian cuisine – in other words, everything he needs to know to reach out to Valentina. Signora Enrica’s son Giovanni begins to begrudge his mother for giving a stranger the love she has denied everybody else for years.

  • Ali Ilhan
    Director
  • Ali ilhan
    Writer
  • Can Arca
    Producer
  • Elvan Albayrak
    Producer
  • Claudia Cardinale
    Key Cast
    The Pink Panther, Once Upon a Time in the West, The Leopard, 8½, Fitzcarraldo,
  • Lavinia Longhi
    Key Cast
    Wild Blood, Mario
  • Ismail Hacıoğlu
    Key Cast
    For Love and Honor, Children of the Otherside
  • Teoman Kumbaracibasi
    Key Cast
    Toss-Up
  • Nilay Cennetkusu
    Key Cast
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Diventare Italiano con la Signora Enrica
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 50 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    February 18, 2011
  • Production Budget:
    1,000,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Turkey
  • Country of Filming:
    Italy, Turkey
  • Language:
    Italian, Turkish
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • New York City International Film Festival
    New York
    United States
    BEST FILM Audience Award / BEST ACTRESS "Claudia Cardinale"
  • Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival
    Antalya
    Turkey
    Jury Award / Best Actress "Claudia Cardinale"
  • Tenerife International Film Festival
    London
    United Kingdom
    Best Film
  • IFS Durres International Film Festival
    Durres
    Albania
    BEST FILM Audience Award / Silver Plate Award
  • Miami Sicilian Film Festival
    Miami
    United States
  • Taormina international film festival
    Taormina
    Italy
  • "Scrivere il cinema"
    mirabella eclano
    Italy
    Best First Feature Film
Distribution Information
  • Ares Media
    Country: Turkey
    Rights: All Rights
Director Biography - Ali Ilhan

Ali Ilhan was born in 1980, Istanbul. Movies have been Ali Ilhan’s biggest passion since his childhood and making a movie has been his biggest dream. This dream came true in 2003 with his first short movie The Hole. The short Low Down Bastards (2004) and Maybe (2006) followed his first work. The Hole won many awards in all of the national and international festivals it has attended. In 2008, he moved to Federico Fellini’s town Rimini in Italy to work on the feature "Being Italian with Signora Enrica"

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