Exclusive Trailer for Venice Debut: The Cat Awakens and Yawns; Then Love Pursues Meaning in Rome.

      Premiering as part of Venice’s Giornate degli Autori (or Venice Days), which runs from September 2 to 12, Federico Francioni and Samuele Sestieri’s film Si sveglia e sbadiglia, il gatto; poi l’amore (translated as The Cat Wakes Up And Yawns; Then Love) portrays three months in the life of an actress seeking meaning amid the chaos of Rome. In anticipation of its release, we are excited to exclusively unveil the first trailer and poster.

      The film features Carlotta Velda Mei, Stefano Andrea Macchi, Alessandro Colombo, Laura Sinceri, Fabrizio Ciavoni, Laura Nardi, Nikolai Selikovsky, and Mauro Santini, and is summarized as follows: “Follow Chiara, an actress approaching forty, as she navigates her life in a hectic, tourist-filled Rome. Feeling invisible, unstable, and ever restless, she moves from one experience to another in a desperate quest for something that can make her feel truly alive.”

      The directors shared, “This film emerged from an unstable and precarious everyday life: our own. In a Rome that’s increasingly harsh, we aimed to give form to the nightmares, fears, and premonitions that surround us. It’s a shared act of exorcism, experienced alongside our lead actress, Carlotta Velda Mei, amidst the vibrant yet crumbling city. Carlotta embodies Chiara, a woman on the brink of forty, forced to adapt for survival while feeling degraded by a world that no longer generates meaning. We sought a crack in the current fabric, envisioning a bold, picaresque film influenced by algorithms, victorious slogans, and images distorted by AI.”

      They further remarked, “Our goal was to create a fierce film that diverges from the production norms of contemporary Italian cinema. No pitching forums or script workshops—just sixty-five shooting days stretched over a year, a makeshift crew, and a cast of friends. We rediscovered the joy of storytelling, filmmaking together, and sharing our views on this historical moment. In our unique way, we aimed to find freedom.”

      Take a look at the exclusive trailer and poster below: