British Council Logo UK Films Database
Project Detail

The Burnt Orange Heresy

Synopsis

The art world and the underworld collide in this elegant and erotic neo-noir thriller. Set in present day Italy, irresistibly charismatic art critic James Figueras hooks up with provocative and alluring American Berenice Hollis. He’s a classic anti-hero in the making with a charm that masks his ambition, whilst she’s an innocent touring Europe, enjoying the freedom of being whoever she wishes. The new lovers travel to the lavish and opulent Lake Como estate of powerful art collector, Joseph Cassidy. Their host reveals he is the patron of Jerome Debney, the reclusive J.D. Salinger of the art world, and he has a simple request: for James to steal a Debney masterpiece from the artist’s studio, whatever the cost.
As the couple spends time with the legendary Debney, they start to realise that nothing about the artist nor their mission is what it seems. But James is a man of deep, lurking ambition and he will do anything, from arson and burglary to murder, in order to further his career…
Official Selection Venice Film Festival 2019 - Out of Competition & Closing Night Gala - World premiere
Official Selection Toronto International Film Festival 2019 - Gala Presentations

Details

Year
2019
Type of project
Features
Running time
98 min
Director
Giuseppe Capotondi
Producer
David Zander, William Horberg, David Lancaster
Executive Producer
Sienna Aquilini, Aeysha Walsh, Stephanie Wilcox, Dante Ariola, August Zander, Jon Shiffman, Jonathan Loughran, Marco Cohen, Benedetto Habib, Fabrizio Donvito, Daniel Campos Pavoncelli, Alessandro Mascheroni, Peter Touche, Vaishali Mistry, Marie-Gabrielle
Editor
Guido Notari
Screenwriter
Scott B. Smith (script), Charles Willeford (novel)
Director of Photography
David Ungaro
Principal cast
Claes Bang, Elizabeth Debicki, Mick Jagger, Donald Sutherland

Genre

Drama

Categories

Fiction

Production Status

Complete

Production Company

US, UK co-production

MJZ (US), Wonderful Films (US), Rumble Films (US), Indiana Film Production (IT)

Indiana Film Production

c/o HanWay Films

Sales Company

HanWay Films (International sales)

8 Basing Street
London
W11 1ET

United Talent Agency (UTA), Creative Artists Agency (CAA) (US sales)

Michael Schwartz-Wright

Page updates

This page was last updated on 12th May 2025. Please let us know if we need to make any amendments or request edit access by clicking below.

Suggest amendments

See also

You may also be interested in other relevant projects in the database.

The Odyssey The Odyssey

Director: Christopher Nolan

Year: 2026

After the Trojan War, Odysseus faces a dangerous voyage back to Ithaca, meeting creatures like the Cyclops Polyphemus, Sirens, and Circe along the way.

Action Adventure Fantasy Literary Adaptation
OH BOYS OH BOYS

Director: Antonio Donato

Year: 2026

In a coastal village obsessed with standing out, through flashy solos, fierce ping pong matches, and clumsy dates, a young saxophonist takes a different path. Official Selection Quinzaine des Cinéastes / Directors' Fortnight Cannes 2026 - World premiere

Comedy Drama
A mixed race woman looks directly into the camera with her hands around her own neck, lying against orange velvet pillows. Choked

Director: Travis Alabanza

Year: 2026

Shakona doesn't always want to be treated so nicely, sometimes she wants to feel like the world does: chaotic. Yet she can't get her devoted and loving boyfriend Eddie to meet her needs, so she goes to where all good decisions are made, a hookup app. Just as it seems like Shakona is finally letting go, she has the chance to take power into her own hands...

Black Comedy Drama LGBTQIA+