Italian director Dario Albertini's family drama "Armony" has secured Swiss distribution through Xenix Filmdistribution ahead of its world premiere in the Piazza Grande section of the Locarno Film Festival. The deal marks the first time Xenix, which regularly handles Italian titles in Switzerland, has distributed one of Albertini's films, and the high-profile Locarno slot is expected to boost its prospects with Swiss audiences through word of mouth.

The film is produced by Fremantle's The Apartment alongside Damocle and Rai Cinema, in association with HBO Max, and is sold internationally by True Colours. It stars Valerio Mastandrea as a solitary 55-year-old truck driver who takes in his six-year-old niece after his sister disappears, alongside Asia Argento (who receives Locarno's Life Achievement Award this year) and newcomer Aurora Cherchi, with support from Nando Paone, Elena Lietti, Francesca Antonelli and Ornella Muti. Written by Albertini and Simone Ranucci, the story follows an improvised "chosen family" fighting to keep custody of the child against social services intervention, while also touching on economic hardship in parts of Italian society.