Steven Spielberg sends casting call to the Okanagan for lead in new movie
'NOT AN OKANAGAN MOVIE BUT A HUGE OPPORTUNITY FOR AN OKANAGAN KID.'
KELOWNA – The Okanagan Film Commission says one of the biggest movie directors of all time is looking for a lead actor for his next feature film.
Steven Spielberg is making a historical film title The Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara based on a six-year-old Italian boy who was at the centre of a mid-19th century controversy which split that country in half, according to a media release.
Edgaro Mortara was secretly baptized by a maid and therefore considered Catholic. Pope Pius IX, who will be played by Mark Rylance, decreed the boy be separated from his Jewish family, seized by the Papal State and taken to the Vatican.
“This was a cause célèbre of mid-nineteenth century European politics and the domestic and international outrage against the pontifical state's actions may have contributed to its downfall amid the unification of Italy,” film commissioner Jon Summerland says in the release. “This is an incredible story of real historical relevance. This is not an Okanagan movie, but a huge opportunity for and Okanagan kid.”
Spielberg, who directed Jurassic Park, Schindlers List and dozens of other award-winning films, is casting for Edgardo, the lead in the film.
“This is a unique and very challenging part for a truly special boy,” Summerland says in the release. “The story deals with the complexity of an extremely intelligent and gifted child's situation – his desire to return to his family and the faith of his ancestors, pitted against his ability to learn the Catechism and engage with the Pope on a level far beyond his years.
He says the actor should appear to be a Jewish-Italian child, but they are not looking for "any kind of Itlalian accent."
The deadline to submit a video clip is Sept. 30.
Visit the Cast It Talent website for instructions.
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