Rome, October 21 (askanews) – Comedian, author, host, actor, and now director. Valerio Lundini presented his directorial debut, "Cambodia," in theaters March 18, 2027, in the Freestyle section of the Rome Film Fest. He also wrote and starred in the film. A film in which reality and fiction intertwine. From the set of the crime series "Cambodia," where he's accustomed to real-life shooting and surrounded by shady characters, henchman Tramezzino finds himself in the shoes of the actor who plays him, Valerio De Nicolais, amidst luxury, parties, a villa, and an assistant; but the latter, in turn, ends up on the series in his place, risking his life for real.
A dangerous and surreal role swap with Lundini playing both. The idea is a simplification of a story he'd been thinking about for a long time, says Lundini, inspired by Marco Risi's "Il branco." "A film where the criminals are revealed to be good guys, not because they actually were, but because they took over directing the film you're watching, and therefore they were trying to exonerate themselves from something that really happened…
Very complicated.” Simplifying, he arrived at “Cambodia,” which he defines as follows: “This film is a body switch, is that what it's called? I don't know, I like it. 'Freaky Friday,' but with criminals instead of the mother and the actor instead of the daughter. 'When I grow up,' the one with Pozzetto or Tom Hanks would be 'Big,' but with criminals instead of Pozzetto and the actor instead of the child Pozzetto.
"When writing it," he adds, "our fear was that it would be too complicated to hold the reins of two worlds, to make them intersect in a mathematically functional way. Then, whether the film is good or bad, the result is that you understand it anyway... Do you understand it?" The cast includes Benedetta Porcaroli, Gabriel Montesi, Giorgio Montanini, Andrea Di Maria, and Sonia Bergamasco.
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