“The Good Mothers” Win First Berlinale Series Award

The real story of the women who dare to defy the Italian mob.

U.K. – Italian mafia series The Good Mothers won the inaugural Berlinale Series Award at the 73° edition of the Berlin International Film Festival.

The title forms part of the first European slate by Disney+ international streaming service Star, and it’s a female take on the Calabrian mob. Led by Italian director Elisa Amoruso (Chiara Ferragni: Unposted) and U.K.’s Julian Jarrold (The Crown), it casts Gaia Girace (My Brilliant Friend), Valentina Bellè (Catch-22, Medici); Barbara Chichiarelli (Suburra, Bad Tales); Francesco Colella (ZeroZeroZero, Trust); Simona Distefano (The Traitor); Andrea Dodero (Thou Shalt Not Hate), and Micaela Ramazzotti (La prima cosa bella).

“The Good Mothers captured us with its multilayered characters that have been treated with care and allowed to evolve before our very eyes. We were moved, anxious, and at times, breathless,” said former Yes Studios boss Danna Stern, in the Award’s jury along with Moonlight star André Holland and Danish writer Mette Heeno behind DR smash hit Carmen Curlers.

The series, adapted by Stephen Butchard (Bagdad Central) from a book by journalist Alex Perry, is based on actual events: the story of real ‘Ndrangheta women Maria Concetta Cacciola (Simona DiStefano), Giuseppina Pesce (Valentina Bellè), and Denise Cosco (Gaia Girace), the daughter of Lea Garofalo (Michaela Ramazzotti) killed by her mafia husband after she tried to rebel to the mob. The series also tells the story of P.M. Anna Colace (Barbara Chichiarelli), who has an intuition: in order to bring down the clans, it is necessary to aim at women, even if it is a strategy that involves great risks. With the help of the prosecutor, the three women will try to free themselves from criminal power and collaborate with justice.

The Good Mothers drops on April 5 internationally on Disney+ and Hulu in the U.S.

Source: Variety