By Italian filmmaker Gabriele Mainetti returns with the martial arts–driven action movie The Forbidden City, formerly titled Kung Fu in Rome.
Set in Rome’s culturally diverse Piazza Vittorio neighborhood, the story unfolds in one of the city’s most multi-ethnic districts. The film follows two strangers from very different worlds. One is the son of a struggling restaurant owner who vanished after running off with a lover, leaving behind debt and unanswered questions. The other is a mysterious young woman newly arrived in Rome, searching for her missing sister with little more than determination and instinct to guide her.
Their paths collide as fate pulls them into Rome’s criminal underworld. Forced to rely on one another, the pair fight their way through violent gangs while navigating cultural tensions, prejudice, and survival in the city’s shadowy slums. The result is a street-level action story grounded in character and conflict.
The film is headlined by Chinese martial artist Yaxi Liu, known to international audiences as Liu Yifei’s stunt double in Disney’s Mulan. The Forbidden City blends grounded drama with kinetic action, marking Mainetti’s latest genre-bending swing.
The film is set for a digital release on March 17 via Well Go USA, bringing high-impact fight choreography to the streets of Italy’s capital.
