Jul 23, 2025 4:17am PT Italian Kung-Fu Movie ‘The Forbidden City’ Lands North American Distribution From Well Go USA (EXCLUSIVE)
By Nick Vivarelli
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Courtesy Filmitalia
Indie film distributor Well Go USA Entertainment has acquired North American rights to Italian director Gabriele Mainetti’s Rome-set martial arts movie “The Forbidden City” following its international launch at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival.
Set in the cosmopolitan melting pot of Rome’s Piazza Vittorio neighborhood, “The Forbidden City” sees two very different souls intersect. One is a mysterious young woman with some mean kung fu skills who has just arrived from China in the Italian capital in search of her missing sister; the other is the son of an indebted local restaurant owner who has disappeared with his lover. These two lost souls are catapulted into an action-packed descent into the criminal underworld of the Italian capital dominated by the Chinese mafia.
Mainetti, who is known internationally for previous genre-bending titles “They Call Me Jeeg” and “Freaks vs. the Reich,” in his latest work “shows impressive command of a kinetic action style rarely achieved outside Southeast Asia, balancing well-choreographed confrontations with the narrative expectations of a European audience,” wrote Variety’s chief critic Peter Debruge in his review. Debruge further noted that “The Forbidden City” blends elements of gangster movie, family melodrama and romantic comedy alongside all those spectacular fights.”
“The Forbidden City” stars Chinese martial artist Liu Yaxi, who was Liu Yifei’s stunt double in Disney’s “Mulan,” alongside Italy’s Enrico Borello (“Lovely Boy”); Sabrina Ferilli (“The Great Beauty”); Marco Giallini (“Perfect Strangers”) and Luca Zingaretti (“Montalbano”).
The Rome-set Kung Fu film is penned by Mainetti with screenwriters Stefano Bises (“Gomorrah”) and Davide Serino (“The Bad Guy”). It is co-produced by Wildside (A Fremantle Company), Goon Films, and PiperFilm which released the film in Italy where it also plays on Netflix.
“I’m thrilled to announce the sale of North American rights for Gabriele Mainetti’s latest film to Well Go USA. It’s a powerful step forward for Italian genre cinema,” said Catia Rossi, director of international operations at PiperFilm in a statement. “Italy has a rich and bold tradition in genre filmmaking. We must keep producing and exporting stories that dare to be different, and that’s exactly what this film represents,” she added.
Commented Brennan Lane, director of acquisitions and production at Well Go USA: “Set amidst Rome’s captivating setting, ‘The Forbidden City’ offers some of the best action choreography this year.”
“The Forbidden City” will have its North American premiere at the Fantasia Film Festival.
North America is the latest territory to which Piper Film has sold “The Forbidden City” following several other international sales.
In addition to an already announced deal with DCM for Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the film has also been sold to IPA for Japan; Viswass for India and Indian South Continent, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore; Eagle International for Taiwan; Nashe Kino for Russia & CIS; Vapet for the Czech and Slovak republics and Beta Film for Bulgaria.
Good ol’ Well Go USA. They’re the best!