Tudor Giurgiu and Cristian Pascariu's documentary Nasty, about the life and career of the tennis player Ilie Năstase, was included in the selection of the Rome Film Festival, which takes place between October 16 and October 28.

The directors will meet the audience in Rome on October 21 and 22 for the film's two screenings. They will be joined by the ATP manager and tennis promoter Vittorio Selmi and by one of Italy's most important sports journalists, Ubaldo Scanagatta. Selmi and Scanagatta feature in Nasty.

Now in its 19th edition, the festival celebrates the newest international productions and the young voices of European cinema. Among the stars invited to this edition are the American director Francis Ford Coppola and the actors Johnny Depp and Viggo Mortensen.

This year, more than 40,000 viewers saw Nasty in cinemas in Romania, before the documentary started streaming online. The production, in which names such as Rafael Nadal, Björn Borg, Jimmy Connors, Nadia Comăneci, and Boris Becker appear, also screened at the Cannes Film Festival.

NASTY is produced by Libra Films and HDR Evolution in co-production with HBO and the Romanian Public Television.

Fandango Distribution will distribute the film in Italy.

(Photo: Transilvania Film)

simona@romania-insider.com