Ahead of the highly anticipated football World Cup, FilmNation Entertainment, in collaboration with Fremantle and The Apartment, will launch worldwide sales (excluding Italy) on Paolo Sorrentino’s documentary, UNTITLED CARLO ANCELOTTI, in Cannes.
The film will offer a rare, personal glimpse into the private world of one of the world’s most successful and celebrated football managers - Carlo Ancelotti - who is training the Brazilian national team for this year’s FIFA World Cup 2026.
Carlo’s journey begins in Italy, as a farmer’s son, and we soon follow him into the high-stakes world of international football as he plays alongside the greats such as Diego Armando Maradona. The film looks beyond Carlo’s professional accolades - the 26 trophies and five Champion Leagues he’s won - and reveals a more intimate story of human connection, humility, and fierce intuition.
The project brings together two of Italy’s most heralded talents - Paolo and Carlo - through their shared passion for football. Paolo Sorrentino is one of Italy’s leading contemporary filmmakers. He won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film with The Great Beauty in 2014. Paolo also revisited his Napolitan youth through the lens of football in his semi-autobiographical film The Hand of God in 2021, which was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best International Feature Film.
UNTITLED CARLO ANCELOTTI is produced by Francesco Melzi d’Eril (producer of Guadagnino’s Suspiria, Bones and All, Call Me by Your Name and upcoming Julian Schnabel’s In The Hand of Dante) for MDE Films, Chloe McClay, Celia Babini and Buck Andrews at Tart Productions, Gabriele Moratti for MeMo Films, and executively produced by Eric Beard in association with Where is Football, Fremantle and The Apartment.
Carlo Ancelotti says: "It's an honor to tell my story alongside the great Paolo Sorrentino. I've always admired his masterpieces and his commitment to artful storytelling."
Paolo Sorrentino says: "In a completely free-form style, CARLO is the sentimental, emotional, and sporting story of one of the most influential figures in modern football. From the fog of the Po Valley to the sunshine of Brazil, this charismatic and witty man has experienced it all."
Producer Francesco Melzi d’Eril says: "For once my love for Cinema and for Football converge. It is a life dream to spend time with these two phenomenal icons, and it will be an exciting journey."
Tart Productions’ Chloe McClay, Celia Babini and Buck Andrews say: "It is an honor to tell Carlo’s story alongside one of the greatest directors of all time. We could not be more grateful to be a part of this historic moment in football and cinema history.
