**AI WEIWEI’S TURANDOT** a feature documentary follows Chinese revolutionary artist, Ai Weiwei, as he brings his artistic vision and iconoclastic activism to Puccini’s Turandot at the Rome Opera House during his operatic directorial debut, using the opera as a backdrop to address many issues that plague mankind including the Ukraine war, refugee crises, the Covid pandemic, and more. One hundred years later, the film shows not only that Puccini’s opera is still as vital and relevant as ever, but also according to esteemed choreographer, Chiang Ching – his lifelong friend featured in the film, it is also a reflection of Ai Weiwei’s life, and a fitting project for an artist known for his installations, sculpture and photography that denounce authority and champion human rights and freedom of expression.
**DIRECTOR:** Maxim Derevianko
**PRODUCERS:** Marta Zaccaron and Christine La Monte
**STATUS:** Final Post Production
**LOCATION:** Rome, Italy
**aiweiweisturandotfilm.com**
**IMDB**

VIVA VERDI!
Feature Documentary on the Festival Circuit after making its world premiere in 20204 at the Woodstock Film Festival!
**VIVA VERDI!** is an intimate glimpse into the lives of the celebrated opera singers and musicians currently living out their 'third act' while mentoring international music students who live among them at Milan's unique retirement home, Casa Verdi, built by Verdi in 1896. Through one-on-one interviews and archival footage, the film follows the lives of these distinguished masters, shining a spotlight on Verdi’s legacy that is still alive and thriving one hundred years later. From these 'guests of Verdi,’ age 77 to 107, comprised of international opera singers, ballet dancers, musicians, conductors, and composers, we hear an extraordinary array of personal and professional stories filled with music, magic, and passion, and ultimately learn why Verdi called this remarkable home his “best work.” His generous approach in caring for his colleagues in art, and the energy from the intergenerational exchange that permeates the house, makes Casa Verdi as forward-thinking now, as it was then.
**DIRECTOR:** Yvonne Russo
**PRODUCERS:** Christine La Monte and Yvonne Russo
**STATUS:** Festival Circuit
**LOCATION:** Milan, Italy
**www.vivaverdithefilm.com**
**IMBD**

**FIGLI DEL FIUME / CHILDREN OF THE RIVER: in post-production**
A feature documentary in the slow cinema tradition: In northern Italy, three men in search of meaning, caught between dreams and reality, explore ancestral waters along the banks of Italy's Po River.
**DIRECTOR:** Federico Rodelli
**PRODUCERS/EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS:** Carlo Pastaccini, Federico Rodelli, Christine La Monte
**STATUS:** Post Production
**LOCATION:** Parma, Italy
**IMDB**

In Development: Film based on the critically acclaimed legal thriller by author Len Williams

A fictional novel based loosely on a true story, the book traces the life of Billy Rey Billings, a South Alabama social orphan, and his lifelong battle with the law. A gripping, colorful story of life in Southern backstreets and swamps with many Jean Valjean characters. The story a la Grisham of Billy Rey’s transformation from one side of the law to the other. The novel follows Billy Rey through his resurrection and redemption and brings him full circle to face the law that had incarcerated him.

History/Background:

The author’s son disappeared in 1980. In 1989, the FBI informed the author that an inmate in the Alabama State Prison had confessed to killing him. He went to Alabama looking for his lost son but found live corpses instead. These are the “lifers,” the result of three-strike legislation. This novel is partly based on fact, partly imagination, and is driven by the author’s desire to help change egregious three-strike laws.

JUSTICE DEFERRED is an enthralling page-turner whose story rings all too true, highlighting the inherent injustice of ‘three-strikes’ laws, under which minor, nonviolent offenders automatically receive life sentences. Worse yet, the laws can easily be abused by law enforcement officials who care more about advancing their own careers than protecting the public. Len Williams powerfully brings these important issues to life through the colorful character of Billy Ray Billings. This home run of a novel shows that ‘three-strikes’ laws should themselves be struck out.

Nadine Strossen, President, American Civil Liberties Union and Professor, New York Law School

IMDB