Historical drama will recount the brief time in 1946 when Maria José of Savoy held the Italian throne.A new Italian feature film will tell the story of Maria José of Savoy, who reigned as queen of Italy for just 27 days before the monarchy was abolished by popular vote.Titled Maestà ("Majesty"), the film will be directed by Ginevra Elkann and is based on an idea by auteur Marco Bellocchio, who will co-write the screenplay alongside Elkann and her regular collaborator Chiara Barzini. The project will be produced by Simone Gattoni for Kavac Film, the Rome-based production company founded by Bellocchio in 1997, Variety reports. May Queen Maria José, daughter of King Albert I of Belgium, married Prince Umberto of Italy, whose father, Vittorio Emanuele III, had cooperated with the fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. She became known as the "May Queen" because she and her husband reigned for just 27 days in 1946 - from 9 May, when Vittorio Emanuele III abdicated in a last attempt to preserve the House of Savoy, until 2 June, when Italians voted in a referendum to abolish the monarchy and the Savoys went into exile. Elkann has described Maria José as an intelligent, cultured woman who was born and prepared to reign, and the film will recount the month of May 1946 - suspended between her accession to the throne and the referendum that brought everything to a sudden end.  "Everything is concentrated in those weeks: her hopes and doubts" - the director stated - "Her tragedy is not her defeat, but her [growing] awareness: the realisation that she was born for something that will never happen.” Bellocchio, whose recent credits include the HBO series Portobello, described Maria José's story as a "fairy tale dramatically shattered". Timing News of the film project comes a few weeks after Italy celebrated the 80th anniversary of landmark referendum that saw the country reject the monarchy in favour of a republic. Separately, the grandson of Umberto II and Maria José, Emanuele Filiberto di Savoia, recently appealed for Italian authorities to allow the remains of his grandparents to be returned to Italy and interred at the Pantheon in Rome, where the first two kings of a united Italy - Vittorio Emanuele II and Umberto I - and Queen Margherita are buried. Umberto II and Maria José are interred at the Abbey of Hautecombe in France.

A new Italian feature film will tell the story of Maria José of Savoy, who reigned as queen of Italy for just 27 days before the monarchy was abolished by popular vote. Titled Maestà ("Majesty"), the film will be directed by Ginevra Elkann and is based on an idea by auteur Marco Bellocchio, who will co-write the screenplay alongside Elkann and her regular collaborator Chiara Barzini. The project will be produced by Simone Gattoni for Kavac Film, the Rome-based production company founded by Bellocchio in 1997, Variety reports. Maria José, daughter of King Albert I of Belgium, married Prince Umberto of Italy, whose father, Vittorio Emanuele III, had cooperated with the fascist dictator Benito Mussolini. She became known as the "May Queen" because she and her husband reigned for just 27 days in 1946 - from 9 May, when Vittorio Emanuele III abdicated in a last attempt to preserve the House of Savoy, until 2 June, when Italians voted in a referendum to abolish the monarchy and the Savoys went into exile. Elkann has described Maria José as an intelligent, cultured woman who was born and prepared to reign, and the film will recount the month of May 1946 - suspended between her accession to the throne and the referendum that brought everything to a sudden end.  "Everything is concentrated in those weeks: her hopes and doubts" - the director stated - "Her tragedy is not her defeat, but her [growing] awareness: the realisation that she was born for something that will never happen.” Bellocchio, whose recent credits include the HBO series Portobello, described Maria José's story as a "fairy tale dramatically shattered". News of the film project comes a few weeks after Italy celebrated the  that saw the country reject the monarchy in favour of a republic. Separately, the grandson of Umberto II and Maria José, Emanuele Filiberto di Savoia, recently appealed for Italian authorities to allow the remains of his grandparents  and interred at the Pantheon in Rome, where the first two kings of a united Italy - Vittorio Emanuele II and Umberto I - and Queen Margherita are buried. Umberto II and Maria José are interred at the Abbey of Hautecombe in France.