Lily James is Filming in 1950s Rome in ‘Finally Dawn’ New US Trailer
by Alex Billington
June 24, 2025
Source: YouTube
“You changed the destiny of your character!” Samuel Goldwyn Films has debuted their official US trailer for an Italian film from a few years years ago titled Finally Dawn, which is *ahem* finally getting released in the US this year. Finally Dawn first premiered at the 2023 Venice Film Festival under the Italian title Finalmente l’alba, featuring an international cast of major actors. A young Roman woman during the 1950s is on the verge of becoming engaged. She goes to the Cinecittà studio to do an audition as an extra and is thrust into this almost infinite night during which she discovers herself. Along the way she ends up crashing an exclusive party and meets many people involved in the production of a sword-and-sandal epic filming at Cinecittà. This stars Lily James as Josephine Esperanto, with appearances by Willem Dafoe, Rachel Sennott, Joe Keery, Alba Rohrwacher, Michele Bravi, and introducing Rebecca Antonaci starring as Mimosa. This received mixed reviews in Venice, with many saying it’s an empowering film, others saying it’s boring and meandering. I enjoyed it for the most part – it’s a sprawling, intricate story involving many film industry characters who are intertwined in this story centered around this young Roman woman. Enjoy.
Here’s the official US trailer (+ poster) for Saverio Costanzo’s film Finally Dawn, from SGF’s YouTube:
Rome, 1953. The night after the murder of Wilma Montesi, several people linked to a sword-and-sandal film set in ancient Egypt that is being shot at Cinecittà find themselves sharing many moments: Mimosa (Rebecca Antonaci), a simple Roman girl, about to marry a man who is liked more by his family than by her, who initially showed up at Cinecittà only to be an extra; Josephine Esperanto (Lily James), the star of the film, a veteran of classic Hollywood who feels threatened by the new generation of “naturalistic” actors represented by Sean Lockwood, another protagonist of the film; Rufus Priori, an American gallery owner & friend of Josephine’s, who will lead the unlikely group on their journey throughout the night. 🎬
Finally Dawn, also known as Finalmente l’alba in Italian, is written and directed by the Italian filmmaker Saverio Costanzo, director of the films Private, In Memory of Me, Auschwitz 2006, The Solitude of Prime Numbers, and Hungry Hearts previously, as well as episodes of the series “In Treatment” and “My Brilliant Friend”. Produced by Paolo Del Brocco, Lorenzo Gangarossa, Mario Gianani. This initially premiered at the 2023 Venice Film Festival a few years ago, and it already opened in Italy back in 2024. It also played at the 2023 Telluride Film Festival. Samuel Goldwyn Films will debut Costanzo’s Finally Dawn film in select US theaters + on VOD starting July 18th, 2025 coming up soon this summer. Anyone want to watch this one?
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