Cinque secondi, Paolo Virzì's film arrives across Switzerland
The drama starring Valerio Mastandrea, presented in Venice, will be distributed by Filmcoopi Zürich from September 17, 2026 in German-speaking Switzerland, after its run in Ticino cinemas
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There's a date that Italian-speaking cinephiles in Zurich, Basel and Bern should mark on their calendars: September 17, 2026. That's the day when «Cinque secondi», Paolo Virzì's new film starring Valerio Mastandrea, will arrive in German-speaking Switzerland's cinemas, distributed by Filmcoopi Zürich. News that expands the reach of a film that already arrived in Ticino a few months earlier, and confirms how quality Italian cinema continues to find space, albeit with different timings, in all the linguistic regions of the Confederation.
The protagonist is Adriano Sereni, a gruff and solitary man who lives in the renovated stables of Villa Guelfi, an ancient ruined estate in Tuscany. As the synopsis released by Filmcoopi recounts, «Adriano is a gruff loner who lives withdrawn in the stables of Villa Guelfi, an abandoned estate in Tuscany. He spends his days smoking cigars and trying to avoid contact with everyone». He used to be a lawyer, a successful man, but a family trauma pushed him to shut himself away in a solitude he imposed on himself.
His monotonous existence is disrupted when a community of young people settles in the neighboring villa to take care of the abandoned fields and vineyards. «When a community of young women and men settles in the villa and dedicates themselves to caring for the abandoned fields and vineyards, he rebels and wants to drive them away», the film's description continues. But the recent graduates in agronomy, climatology and enology are intrigued by this hermit with a mysterious past, and wonder why he lives completely alone, not wanting to have anything to do with anyone. Seasons pass, the grapes ripen, and the initial conflict between the community and the cantankerous loner gradually transforms into coexistence.
The official trailer
The film's trailer is available on the Filmcoopi Zürich website and on YouTube, where one can already glimpse the suspended tones between melancholy and lightness that characterize the film.
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As Filmcoopi emphasizes, «Italian director Paolo Virzì once again demonstrates his ability to weave serious themes with joie de vivre and moments of warmth and lightness», composing «a touching story about loneliness, care and friendship, masterfully performed by Valerio Mastandrea, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi and Galatéa Bellugi». The film made its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival, before also being presented in competition in the Grand Public section at the Rome Film Festival.
The cast, according to the official credits, includes Valerio Mastandrea, Galatéa Bellugi, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Ilaria Spada, Anna Ferraioli Ravel and Francesco Maria Dominedò. It's an Italian drama production from 2025, with a runtime of 106 minutes, shot in color DCP in Scope format with Dolby Digital 5.1 audio. Behind the camera works one of Virzì's trusted teams: cinematography bears the signature of Luca Bigazzi, editing is by Jacopo Quadri, the music is composed by the director's brother, Carlo Virzì, while the screenplay is written together with Francesco Bruni.
A detail that once again links Italian cinema to our territory: the set design bears the signature of Ticino-based Sonia Peng, who has worked alongside Virzì for years in designing the places that, in his films, become characters in their own right. Those familiar with the Livorno-born director's cinema, from «La prima cosa bella» to «La pazza gioia», will find in «Cinque secondi» the same themes dear to him: the pain of loss, the fragility of the self, the stifled desire for redemption, here recounted through the relationship between a wounded man and a group of young people who, unknowingly, restore a reason for him to stay in the world.
Between melancholy and lightness, one of the film's most tender moments.
Screening calendar in Switzerland
German-speaking Switzerland: from September 17, 2026, distributed by Filmcoopi Zürich, in cinemas in Zurich, Basel, Bern and the main German-speaking cities.
