Carolina Cavalli's The Kidnapping of Arabella Opens July 17

By The Backlot

@backlotfriends

A woman in a San Francisco t-shirt stands with a young girl in front of a stone garden shrine in a scene from The Kidnapping of Arabella

Janus Films opens The Kidnapping of Arabella in limited US theaters July 17. Carolina Cavalli directed it. This is her second feature.

Holly works a dead-end job and thinks a lot about where her life went wrong. When she meets Arabella, an eight-year-old trying to run away from her father, Holly becomes convinced the encounter is a cosmic sign. She thinks Arabella is her past self sent back for a second chance. The two go on a road trip. Chris Pine plays the father.

Carolina Cavalli is an Italian writer-director. Her first film, Amanda, played Venice and made waves in 2022. This one premiered at Venice 2025. Janus Films brought it over. These things do not happen to ordinary movies.

Before you go: Paper Moon. 1973, Peter Bogdanovich. A man and a little girl who might be his daughter travel across Depression-era America. The original odd-couple road movie.

Quick Facts

Carolina Cavalli's The Kidnapping of Arabella Opens July 17

DirectorCarolina Cavalli

CastBenedetta Porcaroli, Lucrezia Guglielmino, Chris Pine

GenreDrama

Release2026-07-17

Runtime107 min

Rated7.1/10

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The Kidnapping of Arabella opens July 17. Italian director Carolina Cavalli. A lost woman, a runaway eight-year-old, and a road trip neither of them asked for. From Janus Films. #arthouse #Backlot

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The Kidnapping of Arabella opens July 17. Carolina Cavalli's new film from Janus Films. Benedetta Porcaroli and Chris Pine.

Janus Films opens The Kidnapping of Arabella in limited US theaters July 17. Carolina Cavalli directed it. This is her second feature.

Before you go: Paper Moon. 1973, Peter Bogdanovich. A man and a little girl who might be his daughter travel across Depression-era America. The original odd-couple road movie.