Roberto Minervini's 'I dannati' premieres at Cannes 77, blending Civil War history with toxic masculinity critique

Roberto Minervini's first fiction film 'I dannati' premieres in the Un Certain Regard section of the 77th Cannes Film Festival and releases in Italian theaters on May 16 via Lucky Red. Set during the American Civil War in 1862, the film follows a volunteer company sent to unexplored Western territories. Minervini, known for documentary work, aims to dismantle toxic masculinity prevalent in war cinema. The cast includes historians, artists, and writers—Jeremiah Knupp, Cuyler Ballenger, René W. Solomon, Noah Carlson, Timothy Carlson—who contributed to the story development. Shot in 2022, the film is structured as before, during, and after battle, portraying war as an existential condition with no escape. The title references both a punk-rock band and the religious concept of damnation central to the Civil War.