The father–son bond sits at the center of Tommaso Landucci’s forthcoming film, hitting theaters on September 17, 2026, while an entire microcosm of personal relationships and interactions swirls around the lead, the character played by Riccardo Scamarcio, for which the Roman actor was awarded at the Venice International Film Festival in the Horizons section.
The city seems to provide a quiet, at times unyielding backdrop to what unfolds in the lives and minds of the characters: what the locations of The Monkey’s Children share is a contemporary, universal quality, capable of making the story feel like something that could happen to anybody and play out anywhere.
What it’s about
Dario has a disabled child to whom he devotes every day, giving him all the time, care, and attention he can muster. Yet he also maintains a privileged relationship with his brother’s teenage son: as the nephew grows, Dario finds in him the son he would have liked to have and, above all, the father he could not be. This game of projections gradually proves dangerous for Dario’s inner balance and for the family bonds. The film’s title evokes the famous Aesop fable about a monkey who loved and thus nourished her two cubs in a deeply unequal way.
Where the film was shot
Produced with the support of the Piemonte Film Tv Fund and the Film Commission Torino Piemonte, the film was shot entirely in Piedmont: between the city’s capital and several provincial towns.
Torino
In Turin, among the locations of The Monkey’s Children it’s easy to spot on screen Corso Inghilterra: one of the city’s busiest arteries, linking the center with other strategic areas such as Porta Susa station, and lined with elegant Liberty-style buildings as well as more modern structures.
The production also shot at the Parco del Valentino: one of the oldest and largest public parks in Turin – home to over 1800 trees and a wide variety of floral and arboreal species – where one can stroll and admire the water features of the Roccioso Garden, the cobblestone lanes of the Borgo Medievale, various statues including those dedicated to Cesare Battisti and Massimo D’Azelio, and the Rococo-style Fontana dei dodici mesi.
The Turin outskirts
The Turin province plays the same role in Landucci’s film as it does in reality: it is the place where more and more people choose to live and arrange their daily lives to stay close and connected to the city, yet sheltered from its daily grind.
Giaveno and Rivalba, two towns at the foot of the Alps, were selected to shoot interior scenes and private-home sequences.
In Rubiana, in the Val di Susa, the sequences inside a medical clinic were filmed.
Filming also took place in Moncalieri at service locations like, in this case, an industrial shed.
The municipal swimming pool of Pianezza served as a set for additional scenes, as did the hospital in Carmagnola.
Colle del Lys
Among the locations of The Monkey’s Children is also the Colle del Lys: an alpine pass between the Val di Susa and the Val di Viù, beloved by trekkers, cyclists, and motorcyclists for adrenaline-pumping routes set amid woods and breathtaking panoramas that invite exploration. Recently, the area has been used frequently as a film set.
