The First Dollar

The First Dollar is Oscar-winning director Giuseppe Tornatore's next feature, currently in development with Rai Cinema and Kavac Film. The English-language biopic chronicles the life of Amadeo Peter Giannini, who founded the Bank of Italy in San Francisco in 1904 and transformed American banking by serving immigrants, workers, and families excluded from traditional financial institutions. Tornatore is completing the screenplay and will direct with a cast of Italian and international actors. Producers Simone Gattoni and Marco Bellocchio are packaging the project through Kavac Film alongside Rai Cinema. The film will span key moments in Giannini's career, including his response to the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and his financing of early Hollywood films by Chaplin, Disney, and Capra. While no production start date has been announced, the project was formally presented at the National Italian American Foundation gala in New York on April 23, 2026, signaling active development for international financing and casting.