Italian commercial television network Mediaset is in Jordan shooting a two-part romantic comedy on the life of Jesus, the Royal Film Commission said Monday.
The Holy Family, starring newcomer Brando Pacitto as Jesus, Alessandro Gassman as Joseph and Ana Caterina Morariu as Mary, is being directed by Italy's Raffaele Mertes, who has made several religious productions.
The two-part TV film "seeks to narrate the human side and the inter-relationships between Joseph, Mary and Jesus, starting with the rough, gruff but good-hearted 40-year-old carpenter who falls in love with a girl many years his junior," Jordan's Royal Film Commission said.
"The work is a romantic comedy centered on the great love story between Mary and Joseph," it added.
Celebrated Italian set designer Gianni Quaranta, who won the 1986 Academy Award for best art direction for the Hollywood blockbuster A Room With A View, is designing the production.
In cooperation with Jordan's Royal Film Commission, the film is being shot at Petra, the ancient Nabatean city in southern Jordan famous for its rose-red temples hewn from the rock.
Over the years Jordan's natural and archeological wealth has also served as a backdrop for many Hollywood productions, among them the all-time classic Lawrence of Arabia.
{{/usCountry}}Over the years Jordan's natural and archeological wealth has also served as a backdrop for many Hollywood productions, among them the all-time classic Lawrence of Arabia.
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