Oscar-winning Italian filmmaker Paolo Sorrentino will write and direct “The Hand of God” for Netflix. Described by the director as an “intimate and personal film”, the movie is produced by Lorenzo Mieli for The Apartment Pictures, a Fremantle company, and Sorrentino. The film will be produced in Naples, Italy, the hometown of the director. “I'm excited at the idea of filming in Naples again exactly twenty years after my first film. ‘The Hand of God' represents for the first time in my career an intimate and personal film, a novel of formation at once light-hearted and painful,” Sorrentino said in a statement. Lesley Manville on Playing Princess Margaret for Netflix’s The Crown Season 5: ‘What a Wonderful Woman to Play’

“I'm delighted to partake in this adventure with producer Lorenzo Mieli, his company The Apartment and Netflix. The mutual understanding between myself and Teresa Moneo, David Kosse and Scott Stuber from Netflix on the meaning of the film was immediate and dazzling. They made me feel at home, an ideal condition, because this is precisely what this film means to me: going back home,” he said. David Kosse, Vice President, International Original Film at Netflix said he has always admired the director, who is known for his films such as “One Man Up”, “The Consequences of Love”, “The Family Friend”, “Il Divo” and the Academy Award winner “The Great Beauty”. Singer Duffy Demands Netflix to Take Down ‘365 Days’, Says the Polish Film Normalises Kidnapping and Rape

“I've always been a huge fan of Paolo Sorrentino so as soon as we were presented with ‘The Hand of God', we knew that we wanted to partner with him and Lorenzo on this project. It's an honour to work with one of the greatest filmmakers in Europe and to bring his incredible story to the world,” he added. Scott Stuber, Head of Netflix Films, said he was looking forward to bring Sorrentino's story to their global audience.

“Paolo is an incredible storyteller who has cemented his place on the world cinema stage. The Hand of God is a personal film that is taking him back to Naples, his hometown, and is a beautifully written story in his signature style,” Stuber said. Lorenzo Mieli, who has collaborated with the director in the past, said he is always surprised by Sorrentino's ability to “reshuffle the cards and approach things from a new angle”. Sorrentino is also known for his TV show "The Young Pope", starring Jude Law.