[Favourite of the Month] Hotel Portofino, the highly pleasant British period drama set in Mussolini's Italy, was launched in the U.K. on streaming service Britbox in January 2022 and last summer in the U.S. on PBS. Its first series (six one-hour episodes) was shown in France on Chérie 25 in September and it is now available on Region 2 DVD thanks to L'Atelier d'images.
Italy, 1926. Bella Ainsworth (Natasha McElhone, Californication), the daughter of a wealthy British industrialist, moved to Italy with her family to open a hotel in the coastal town of Portofino. Her upper-class clients include American art dealer Jack Turner (Adam James, Vigil) and music hall sensation Claudine Pascal (Lily Frazer), the charismatic Count Carlo Albani (Daniele Pecci) and his son Roberto (Lorenzo Richelmy), the obnoxious Mrs Julia Drummond-Ward (Lucy Akhurst) and her daughter Rose (Claude Scott-Mitchell) and the hard-to-please Lady Latchmere (Anna Chancellor) with her niece Melissa De Vere (Imogen King). Bella is helped by her cook Betty Scanlon (Elizabeth Carling, Goodnight Sweetheart), Betty's son Billy (Louis Healy), the Italian maid Paola (Carolina Gonnelli) and the recently hired Constance Marsh (Louisa Binder).
Running a hotel is demanding but Bella Ainsworth watches over her children. Her son Lucian
(Oliver Dench) dreams to pursue his passion for painting, though he didn't fully recover from the 1914-1918 war. Lucian's sister Alice Mays-Smith (Olivia Morris), a widow, tries to start anew in Portofino with her daughter. Bella's unsupportive husband Cecil (Mark Umbers) and Julia Drummond-Ward want to marry Lucian to Rose. In fact, Cecil Ainsworth's only interest is to get enough money to maintain his expensive lifestyle. The hotel has attracted attention from Vincenzo Danioni, a local fascist politician (Pasquale Esposito, Gomorra: La serie). Masterfully written by its creator Matt Baker (Suspect, Before We Die), Hotel Portofino was filmed in Croatia and Italy. The series has everything viewers can expect from the genre: lavish sets, great costumes, gorgeous locations, intrigue, romance and interesting main characters served by a talented cast. As if that weren't enough, it gives us a bona fide mystery (around a painting) and tackles racism, homosexuality and women's condition.
Directed by Adam Wimpenny, Hotel Portofino is competently produced by Eagle Eye Drama (for ITV and Britbox). This company was founded by Walter Iuzzolino, Jo McGrath and Jason Thorp, the creative forces behind Channel 4's video on demand service Walter Presents. With Rocco Fasano (Gianluca Bruzzone), Assad Zaman as Lucian's best friend Anish Sengupta, Dominic Tighe (Pelham Wigfield), Bethan Cullinane (Lucy Wigfield), etc. Co-produced with PBS. Produced in association with Beta Film. Walter Iuzzolino and Jo McGrath exec produce. Produced by Julie Baines. Music by Stefano Cabrera, performed by the Orchestra Arcangelo Corelli. Cinematography by Erol Zubčević. Editing by Natasha Wilkinson and Colin Sumsion. Stefano Katunar is the artistic director, assisted with Katarina Stančić. Paola Lugarić is the set designer. Costumes designed by Louize Nissen. Production designed by Patricia Woerler. Titles by The Morrison Studio.
Production services by Drugi Plan and Itaca Film SRL. Co-financed with the European Regional Development Fund 2014-2020. Supported by the Filming in Croatia Incentive Programme. With the assistance of the Genova Liguria Film Commission. Beta Film, which distributes Hotel Portofino, has sold the series to more than 55 territories. The 6 episodes in the 2-disc DVD boxset are available in French and in English (with subtitles). There's also a trailer. Hotel Portofino will return for a second series.
