‘Fumettibrutti / Uglycomics’: Graphic Novel Trilogy About Transgender Experience In Works At Italy’s Bim Produzione — MIA Market

EXCLUSIVE: Wild Bunch production house Bim Produzione is readying a TV series adaptation of Fumettibrutti (Uglycomic), a popular Italian graphic novel trilogy about the life of a young transgender woman.

The show won the WIFTMI Award today at MIA in Rome after Bim boss Riccardo Russo presented it in the drama category of the Co-Production Market and Pitching Forum this week. 'Fumettibrutti' is the professional name of cartoonist and activist Josephine Yole Signorelli.

The eight-episode first series will include live-action scenes and others animated in the style of the trilogy. It is planned to Yole's life from her adolescence in Catania, Sicily, through to the publication of her first novel, when she had transitioned and was realizing an ambition to become a cartoonist. It will not follow a linear storyline, and will see the lead character reflecting on herself, her transition from a teenage boy named P. in devoutly Catholic family and other important life episodes such as relationship breakdowns.

"It is a unique, not because it is the story of gender transition," Russo told Deadline this week. "The journey taken is not only about finding the identity through gender, but also becoming a great artist."

The story sees Yole moving away from her family and making compromises as she begins life as a female, but also finds acceptance heard to come by as a graphic novelist. "Yole gradually became like a manifesto for the new generation around gender and LGBT+," said Russo. "The strength of this little boy, who became a girl, is amazing."

Bim acquired rights to the novels, which original began as daily stories on social media, and set a TV series adaptation. It is written by Italian author Teresa Ciabatti, Laura Luchetti (Twin Flower, Sugarlove) and Michele Pellegrini (Il Grande Giorno, Odio l'Estate) and is directed by Francesca Mazzoleni, who was a director on Netflix's Rocco Siffredi drama series Supersex.

"Fummetibrutti is a phenomenon for millennials, on social media and is much more than the books she has published," said Russo. "However, this is not a generational take. This is a symbol of something that is changing in out contemporary society, especially in Italy where some topics are treated conservatively. Within the thousands who follow Fumettibrutti, there are housewives, older women and anyone that who approaches life seeking to be loved for what they really are."

Bim Produzione is part of Bim Distribuzione, which in turn is owned by Wild Bunch, with Russo, the former Leone Film Group Head of TV and Head of International Co-Productions at Lux Vide, leading the line. The company is behind RaiPlay's drama Nudes, which was an Italian remake of a Norwegian drama of the same name and was the best performing original show on Rai's streaming service in 2022. Its first feature film, Still Time, was a romantic comedy starring Edoardo Leo back in fall 2021. More recent productions include Italian-French co-production Bis Repetita from Émilie Noblet and Season 2 of Nudes in collaboration with Rai Fiction.

Coming down the line is 177 Days: The Kidnapping of Farouk Kassam, a co-pro with Rai, and a project with Universal International Studios written by screenwriter and artist Menotti.

In awarding Fumettibrutti, the jury of WIFTMI (Women in Film, Television and Media, Italy), called the show a "courageous and authentic representation of the transgender experience, offering an authentic portrait of the LGBTQIA+ community."

The project brings to life the journey of Yole, a young transgender woman navigating her path to self-discovery. The series also has strong commercial potential thanks to its brand awareness, its innovative mix of live-action and animation, as well as the universal themes of identity and belonging it explores. We believe that WIFTMI's consultancy can contribute to the project, sharing its commitment to the active inclusion of underrepresented groups, a commitment that the association promotes both in terms of on-screen representation and behind the scenes in the audiovisual industry".

The WIFTMI award is handed out based on criteria related to the themes of eliminating gender inequality, positive representation, balanced representation, diversity and inclusion.