Sophia Loren is headed to Netflix to star in the adaptation of “The Life Before Us.”
In the film, based on Romain Gary’s bestseller, Loren plays a Holocaust survivor with a daycare business in a seaside Italian town.
“Madame Rosa (Loren) takes in 12-year-old street kid Momo, the boy who recently robbed her. The two loners become each other’s protectors, anchoring an unconventional family,” according to the streamer.
The movie is directed by Edoardo Ponti (“Coming & Going,” “Liv”), who is also Loren’s son. It co-stars Ibrahima Gueye, Renato Carpentieri and Massimiliano Rossi.
The multi-award-winning Loren, one of the stars of Hollywood’s Golden Age, was known for Vittorio De Sica’s “Two Women,” “Marriage Italian Style” and “Arabesque.”
Loren stated: “In my career, I’ve worked with the biggest studios, but I can safely say that none have had the breadth of reach and the cultural diversity of Netflix, and that’s what I love about them. They have understood that you don’t build a global studio unless you cultivate local talent in every country and give these unique voices an opportunity to be heard.”
“The Life Ahead” is produced by the European company Palomar-Mediawan Group (“Detective Montalbano” on Amazon Prime) with support from Impact Partners Film Service, Artemis Rising Foundation, Foothills Productions, Another Chapter Productions and Scone Investments.
Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos added: “ ‘The Life Ahead’ is a beautiful and brave story that, much like Sophia herself, will be embraced by audiences in Italy and all around the world.”
Separately, streamer recently dropped a teaser trailer for the fourth season for “Stranger Things.”