Giuseppe Tornatore Doc on King of Cashmere Brunello Cucinelli Revealed

Oscar-wining director Giuseppe Tornatore (“Cinema Paradiso”) is putting the finishing touches on a high-profile documentary about Brunello Cucinelli, the fashion designer known as Italy’s “King of Cashmere.”

RAI Cinema has announced that Tornatore’s under-the-radar doc — chronicling Cucinelli’s rise from being a farmer’s son to becoming chief executive of a global luxury lifestyle brand with a market capitalization of more than $1.5 billion — has been set for release in Italian cinemas on Dec. 9 via its 01 Distribution arm.

Many details of the Cucinelli project are being kept under wraps, besides the doc’s Italian title which is “Brunello, il visionario garbato” — that translates as “Brunello, the polite visionary” — and the fact that the film’s score is penned by Oscar-winning Italian composer Nicola Piovani (“Life Is Beautiful”).

The doc is being produced by Rome’s MasiFilm and RAI Cinema. World sales are still being decided.

Cucinelli, who was born in the ancient Umbrian hamlet of Castel Rigone in 1953, founded his company in 1978 and became successful by dyeing cashmere in “pop colors” at a time when, as he has put it, there was no colored cashmere for women. Cucinelli has said the doc, which was shot in Umbria, will depict key moments in his career, showcasing his passion for Italian craftsmanship and commitment to a concept he calls “humanistic capitalism,” under which every stitch of clothing his company creates is made in Italy and mostly in the area where he comes from.

News that Tornatore’s Cucinelli film will surface soon comes just as the prominent helmer – whose most recent work is the widely praised and globally sold Ennio Morricone doc “Ennio” – is set to be honored on Wednesday by the American Academy in Rome with its McKim Medal. The prize honors personalities who have become protagonists of cultural exchange between Italy and the U.S.

Giuseppe Tornatore Doc on King of Cashmere Brunello Cucinelli Revealed