Italy’s Minerva Pictures has boarded Italian filmmaker and pop star Federico Zampaglione’s new horror feature “The Nameless Ballad,” his follow-up to “The Well,” which sold in over 40 countries and premiered at the Fright Fest and Sitges festivals.
Minerva, which is partnered with TVCO, is launching sales on “Nameless Ballad” at the EFM.
The English-language chiller stars Jamie Ward (“His Dark Materials”) as Sam Gallo, a fragile musician under pressure from his record label who takes refuge in an isolated Italian villa to find inspiration for new material. But the sanctuary he seeks quickly warps into a psychological trap. “Tormented by addiction and self-doubt, Sam becomes easy prey for the house’s lurking presences, which feed on his unrest and twist his creative impulses into something destructive,” says the synopsis.
Alana Boden (“I Am Elizabeth Smart”) co-stars as Tania, whose attempt to support Sam draws her into the same creeping terror.
The film’s supporting cast includes Fabrizio Ferracane (“Black Souls”), Seumas Sargent (“The Signal”), and Reed Stokes (“The Lions of Sicily”).
Zampaglione, who is leader of Italian band Tiromancino, previously helmed horror films “Shadow” and “Tulpa,” that both travelled internationally. He made a global splash with 2023’s “The Well” in which an art restorer named Lisa Gray travels to a small Italian village to work on a cursed medieval painting.
“The Well” turned Zampaglione into one of Italy’s top genre movie specialists.
“The Nameless Ballad,” which is now in post, was written by Zampaglione with ace Italian scribe Barbara Baraldi, who is editor of Italian horror comics series “Dylan Dog.” It is produced by Italy’s Somic Film.