WORLD-FAMOUS Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli has decided to cameo as himself in “Music of Silence,” a new film based on his life.

    “Music of Silence” is based on Bocelli’s memoir of the same name, published in 2002, detailing his life growing up in Tuscany when he went blind at the age of 12 and going on to sell more than 80 million albums worldwide. Seven of his albums have reached the top 10 on the Billboard 200, and his single with Sarah Brightman, “Time to Say Goodbye,” is one of the best-selling singles of all time with more than 12 million copies sold.

    The memoir details the singer-songwriter’s struggle with reading music in Braille, struggles in law school, competing in talent shows and his big break when Luciano Pavarotti heard him sing Allegri’s “Miserere.” Bocelli’s memories of overcoming extreme difficulties to find global success as a popular and classical singer-songwriter are the makings of a classic Hollywood story.

    The film will feature never-before-released songs composed by Bocelli in his youth. Toby Sebastian (“Game of Thrones”) plays Amos Bardi (the alter ego of Bocelli), with Antonio Banderas playing his maestro, Luisa Ranieri his mother, Ennio Fantastichini his uncle and Jordi Molla his father. Anna Pavignano and Michael Radford wrote the screenplay in collaboration with Bocelli.

    “Music of Silence” is currently filming at Cinecitta Studios in Rome, where Bocelli made a guest appearance for the film, performing Puccini’s “Nessun dorma” onstage.

    AMBI is financing and producing the film, with Andrea Iervolino, Monika Bacardi and Roberto Sessa producing. AMBI Distribution is handling global sales.(SD-Agencies)