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Hotel Portofino is a story of personal awakening at a time of global upheaval.
In the traumatic aftermath of WW1, Bella Ainsworth (Natascha McElhone Ronin, Californication, Halo), a wealthy industrialist’s daughter, attempts to coax her wounded son, Lucian, and widowed daughter, Alice, towards health and happiness. Her plan: move to Italy to set up a quintessentially British hotel in the breathtakingly beautiful Italian Riviera town of Portofino.
The ‘roaring 20s’ may be in full swing, but the problems at Hotel Portofino mount quick for Bella: she’s short of staff and money; her guests, including the imperious Lady Latchmere (Anna Chancellor), are demanding and hard-to-please; and she’s being targeted by a scheming and corrupt local politician, Signor Danioni (Pasquale Esposito), who threatens to drag her into the red-hot political cauldron of Mussolini’s Italy.
Embracing themes of sexual and social liberation Hotel Portofino is a family drama full of emotional highs and lows, that weaves its classic ‘whodunit’ mystery woven throughout the intoxicating influence of Italy’s enchanting culture, climate, and cuisine. Those who check in will never be the same again.
Natascha Mcelhone