For his first film since his mafia epic Gomorrah picked up the Grand Prix at Cannes in 2008, director Matteo Garrone has set his sights on an even more insidious target: Reality TV. But where Gomorrah approached its subject with an unflinching realism, Reality tackles its topic with a boisterous energy that's been described as Fellini-esque. Garrone still has his knives out; he's just determined to have fun while doing his skewering.

Reality centres on Luciano (Aniello Arena), a fish merchant and small-time scammer with dreams of celebrity. After a successful first audition for the Italian Big Brother, Luciano starts to suspect that the show's producers have sent spies to watch him in his “natural environment.” His paranoia mounting, Luciano begins to worry about an altogether different sort of Big Brother — but that's just the price of fame, right?