Mischa Barton Cast in Crime Thriller HOPE LOST

By: Mar. 14, 2014
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AMBI Pictures, the movie development, finance and production company owned and run by Andrea Iervolino and Monika Bacardi, today announced that Danny Trejo ("Machete," "From Dusk Till Dawn"), Mischa Barton ("The O.C.' "The Sixth Sense"), Michael Madsen ("'Reservoir Dogs," "Kill Bill," "Donnie Brasco") and Daniel Baldwin ("Vampires," "Born on the 4th of July") have signed on to star in the crime thriller "Hope Lost."

An intense thriller tackling prostitution and sex trafficking, the film is being directed by David Petrucci from a screenplay written by Francesco Trento, Damiano Giacomelli and Francesco Teresi in collaboration with Loretta Tersigni. Additional cast include Andrey Chernishov, Francesca Agostini and Alessia Navarro.

Principal photography will commence this month in Rome. Andrea Iervolino and Monika Bacardi are producing the film through their AMBI Pictures banner. Cosetta Turco is also a producer and Danielle Maloni is executive producer.

"Hope Lost" revolves around Sofia (Francesca Agostini), a beautiful 20 year old girl leading a somewhat boring life in her small native town in Romania and dreaming a different life, anything close to the characters of Italian soap operas.

Sofia's life is drastically changed after meeting Gabriele (Andrey Chernishov) in a club one night and being swept off her feet. That very same night she leaves her country with Gabriele for Italy to take part in a reality show Gabriele claims to be involved with.

Reality hits Sofia very hard, as in truth she is sold by Gabriele to Manol (Michael Madsen), a pimp, and forced tsell her body in the streets by Manol's lackeys - Fabian and Marius (Danny Trejo).

Sofia's once boring life becomes the worst hell ever where the only glimmer of light is the friendship of Alina (Mischa Barton), another whore like herself, and Eva, a strange client.

Sofia and Alina are doomed to a yet worse scenario as they are bought by Ettore (Daniel Baldwin), a brutal man who intends to torture them in a snuff movie. With only a mare hope of survival, the two girls can only escape death through Eva's Agency.

"Hope Lost" is the latest film to be added to the proliferating AMBI slate. Iervolino and Lady Bacardi are currently working on the Barry Levinson directed drama "The Humbling," starring Al Pacino, Mandy Patinkin, Kyra Sedgwick, Charles Grodin and Dianne Wiest. Iervolino and Bacardi are co-producers - producing alongside Al Pacino, Jason Sosnoff and Ged Dickersin. "The Humbling" is a story set on a farm in upstate New York that centers on the sexual (and otherwise) relationship between an aged, suicidal actor and a younger woman.

The company recently completed the action thriller "Sights of Death" / "S.O.D," starring Danny Glover, Daryl Hannah, Rutger Hauer, Stephen Baldwin and Michael Madsen.

About AMBI

Prolific Italian producer Andrea Iervolino and Monika Gomez del Campo Bacardi, Lady of Bayfield Hall, better known as "Monika Bacardi" teamed to launch AMBI Pictures in late 2013 and have rapidly put together a robust slate of films they are financing and producing for the worldwide marketplace.

Headquartered in Europe, with a new international sales office in Beverly Hills, Iervolino and Lady Bacardi's AMBI Pictures is dedicated to making commercial films for a worldwide audience. With a mandate to serve as a top-tier supplier of mainstream projects for both the studios and major independent distributors worldwide, AMBI pursues top Hollywood talent and international stars and produce/finance six to eight films a year at varying budget levels, depending on the project.

The company is devoted to fostering an artist-friendly environment for top filmmakers and talent and willing to explore original stories and edgy material featuring inter-culture concepts.

Andrea Iervolino has produced, funded and distributed over 40 feature films including "The Merchant of Venice," "Gorbaciof," "Napoletans," and "The Anatomist," top name a few. At just 25 years old, he is considered one of the youngest and most accomplished entrepreneurs in the Italian film industry.

Monika Bacardi is the widow of Luis Adalbert Facundo Gomez del Campo Bacardi, Lord of Bayfield Hall, known as Lord Luis Bacardi (descendent of the Bacardi founder, still a family-run company). Renowned for her passion of modern art and love of photography and movies, Monika Bacardi is a highly successful businesswoman who is now committed to producing films, through AMBI, on top of her numerous philanthropic activities

AMBI Pictures is active in the distribution of various movie projects in Italy and throughout the world through its satellite company AI Entertainment, a company Iervolino founded in 2011. Iervolino still runs this operation as well as several production and distribution companies in Italy, Spain and Canada.



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