Full Breakdown
Alice Rohrwacher to Direct Feature Adaptation of Italo Calvino’s “The Baron in the Trees”
5/29/2026, 5:03:00 AM
The Film Project
Italian-based producers Mario Gianani and Lorenzo Mieli, through their Our Films banner, announced that Oscar-nominated director Alice Rohrwacher will adapt and direct a feature version of Italo Calvino’s 1957 novel *The Baron in the Trees*. The project, confirmed in May 2026, will be shot in Poland and financed via a new partnership with streaming platform Mubi, which also handles distribution.
Context & Creative Team
Calvino’s story follows the young Baron Cosimo, who, after a family dispute, climbs a tree and refuses to descend. The novel has only one prior screen version, the 1969 film *The Nonexistent Knight*. Rohrwacher brings a record of literary-driven cinema, including Cannes Grand Prix winner *The Wonders* (2014) and Best Screenplay winner *Happy as Lazzaro* (2017); she earned an Oscar nomination for the 2023 short *Il Pupille*. Our Films, owned by Mediawan, previously turned Elena Ferrante’s *My Brilliant Friend* into a global HBO Max series and retains an equity stake in each of its productions.
Financing Model
Our Films’ recent specialty releases earned $4.5 M in the United States, $5 M in Poland, $1.4 M in the United Kingdom, $1.3 M in Italy and $1.2 M in the Netherlands, showing market appetite for niche auteur cinema. Gianani and Mieli describe a pragmatic model that blends equity stakes with multi-territorial partners, reducing risk for high-concept literary adaptations. The Mubi partnership supplies both financing and worldwide distribution, a structure they say “didn’t exist before.”
Why It Matters
Adapting Calvino’s celebrated novel could broaden the author’s global audience and demonstrate Europe’s capacity to produce English-language-friendly foreign-language films. The project also illustrates how streaming platforms and regional financiers can jointly sustain auteur cinema amid intense theatrical-streaming competition.
Official Statements & Responses
- Mieli said the goal is to expand the market for specialty films by targeting specific audiences in each territory.
- Gianani explained that the team is focused on pragmatic financial solutions, noting that the partnership with Mubi created a new financing model.
- On Calvino’s novel, Gianani mentioned that after reading it, they immediately thought of director Pawel Pawlikowski to helm the project.
Verbatim Quotes
- “We’re trying to maximize the space for specialty movies,” — Lorenzo Mieli, Our Films
- “We have to find solutions,” — Mario Gianani, Our Films
- “We’re pragmatic and find financial solutions and with Mubi we invented a model that didn’t exist before.” — Mario Gianani, Our Films
- “After we read the book, the first person we thought of was Pawel,” — Mario Gianani, Our Films
Upcoming Release
The film is slated for a theatrical debut in Poland, with a North American release planned for the fall to align with awards season. Production updates are expected as financing closes and casting is finalized.
