A Second Chance at Childhood: Carolina Cavalli’s “The Kidnapping of Arabella” Opens at the IFC Center July 17
The Venice-winning Italian dramedy, featuring an unforgettable turn from Chris Pine, brings its deadpan road trip to New York before a wider rollout.
Italian cinema has been on a quiet roll lately, and The Kidnapping of Arabella looks like one of the season’s most charming entries. Writer-director Carolina Cavalli’s acclaimed sophomore feature opens in New York at the IFC Center on July 17, and between its festival pedigree, its singular premise, and an against-type appearance from a very recognizable American star, this is exactly the kind of idiosyncratic gem worth seeking out. I have been curious about this one since it started winning prizes on the festival circuit.
A Wonderfully Strange Premise
The hook here is irresistible. Holly, played by Benedetta Porcaroli, spends her days at a dead-end job fantasizing about holes in the space-time continuum and wondering where her life went wrong. When she meets Arabella, an eight-year-old rebel hoping to run away from her self-absorbed author father, Holly becomes convinced their meeting is a cosmic sign, and that Arabella is, in fact, her own past self sent back for a second chance. The two embark on an unconventional road trip between two lost souls who might be exactly what the other needs.
Described by programmers as a delightfully idiosyncratic homage to sisterhood, The Kidnapping of Arabella is by turns comic and profoundly reflective, following its heroines as they try to make peace with their pasts, their present, and their futures. It is a deadpan, big-hearted spin on the road movie that trades highway thrills for interior ones.
A Cast With a Surprising Star
The film is anchored by a prize-winning lead performance. Benedetta Porcaroli, known internationally from Netflix’s Baby, won the Best Actress award in Venice’s Orizzonti section for her turn as Holly, with newcomer Lucrezia Guglielmino playing the titular Arabella. The casting curveball, and the detail that has genre and arthouse fans alike intrigued, is Chris Pine, the Star Trek and Wonder Woman star, who turns up as Arabella’s deadpan novelist father in what critics have called an unforgettable appearance. Seeing Pine slot into a small, offbeat Italian film is the kind of left-field choice that tends to pay off.
A Filmmaker to Watch
Here is the context that should put The Kidnapping of Arabella on your radar. It comes from Carolina Cavalli, whose 2022 debut Amanda was a critically acclaimed and very funny Gen Z deadpan comedy that earned her a Donatello nomination for Best New Director. The Kidnapping of Arabella premiered in the Horizons program at the 2025 Venice Film Festival, where it picked up that Best Actress prize, and it went on to open the 25th edition of Film at Lincoln Center and Cinecittà’s Open Roads: New Italian Cinema series in New York. Oscilloscope Laboratories, a distributor with a sharp eye for exactly this kind of distinctive arthouse fare, is handling the release.
Where and When to Watch
Here is the state of play.
- Opens: July 17, 2026, at the IFC Center in New York
- Distributor: Oscilloscope Laboratories
- Expansion: additional cities expected to follow
- Language: Italian with English subtitles
The Vitals
The quick-scan version.
| Title | The Kidnapping of Arabella (Il rapimento di Arabella) |
| Written and directed by | Carolina Cavalli |
| Starring | Benedetta Porcaroli, Lucrezia Guglielmino, Chris Pine |
| Produced by | Antonio Celsi, Annamaria Morelli |
| Executive producers | Malcom Pagani, Moreno Zani, Andrea Scrosati |
| Distributor | Oscilloscope Laboratories |
| Country | Italy |
| Premiere | 2025 Venice Film Festival (Orizzonti), Best Actress winner |
| Runtime | 108 minutes |
| New York opening | July 17, 2026 (IFC Center) |
| Learn more | IMDb and official site |
The Synopsis
Holly spends her days at a dead-end job fantasizing about holes in the space-time continuum and wondering where her life went wrong. When she meets Arabella, an eight-year-old rebel hoping to run away from her self-absorbed author father, Holly becomes convinced their meeting is a cosmic sign, and that Arabella is, in fact, her past self sent back for a second chance. The two embark on an unconventional road trip between two lost souls who might be exactly what the other needs.
Where It Stands
The Kidnapping of Arabella arrives in New York with a Venice acting prize, a growing critical reputation, and a premise strange and tender enough to stand apart from anything else opening this summer. With Carolina Cavalli confirming the promise of her debut and Chris Pine adding an irresistible curveball, this is a genuine arthouse treat. I will have a fuller AndersonVision look as it expands beyond New York. For now, the IFC Center is the place to be on July 17.
