The Academy Award® winning Paolo Sorrentino will write and direct The Hand of God for Netflix. Produced by Lorenzo Mieli for The Apartment Pictures, a Fremantle company, and Paolo Sorrentino, the film will be produced in Naples, Italy.

“I’m excited at the idea of filming in Naples again exactly twenty years after my first film. The Hand of God represents for the first time in my career an intimate and personal film, a novel of formation at once light-hearted and painful. I’m delighted to partake in this adventure with producer Lorenzo Mieli, his company The Apartment and Netflix. The mutual understanding between myself and Teresa Moneo, David Kosse and Scott Stuber from Netflix on the meaning of the film was immediate and dazzling. They made me feel at home, an ideal condition, because this is precisely what this film means to me: going back home,” says Paolo Sorrentino.

David Kosse, Vice President, International Original Film at Netflix added, “I’ve always been a huge fan of Paolo Sorrentino so as soon as we were presented with The Hand of God, we knew that we wanted to partner with him and Lorenzo on this project. It’s an honour to work with one of the greatest filmmakers in Europe and to bring his incredible story to the world.”

“Paolo is an incredible storyteller who has cemented his place on the world cinema stage. The Hand of God is a personal film that is taking him back to Naples, his hometown, and is a beautifully written story in his signature style,” said Scott Stuber, Head of Netflix Films.  “To build a great film studio you need great filmmakers from every part of the world, telling stories in all languages.  With the majority of our membership outside of the U.S., under David’s leadership, we’ve been growing our international film business over the past year and look forward to bringing Paolo’s story and so many others to a global audience.”

Lorenzo Mieli, CEO of The Apartment, “It’s always a real pleasure to work with Paolo, and this time I’m happier than ever to be producing a film with him.  Whenever we embark on a new project together, I’m always surprised by Paolo’s ability to reshuffle the cards and approach things from a new angle. His ability to look steadfastly ahead has enabled us to forge the perfect partnership with Netflix – the undisputed protagonists of innovation – so we can embark on this exciting new journey together.”

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