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Berlinguer. A Love Story

There are love stories that last a lifetime. Then there are those that seem to last forever. Enrico Berlinguer passed away on June 11, 1984 in Padua, over 40 years ago. His funeral was the largest in Italian history, with over 2 million people arriving in Rome from all over the country. The emotion, the pain and the explosion of love of those days led the actor Roberto Benigni to say that in those days the firmament was burning.

And in fact, many had the feeling that everything was over with his death. Yet Enrico Berlinguer continues to be the most beloved political leader of all time. Loved by those who lived his political season, but also by those born many years after his death. How is it possible? Why a politician who died when the world was still divided into two blocks is still so loved in Italy?

Pierpaolo Farina, born in 1989, discovered his figure at 18 and in 2009 founded the first website on the former communist leader. In his directorial debut, Farina tells this long love story, starting from what is considered by everyone "the end", his funeral.

Through the testimonies of those who were there, from his daughter Laura to the actress Lella Costa, to former party officials such as Aldo Tortorella and Luciana Castellina, but above all to those who were not there, he reconstructs the human and political story of the communist leader.

The result is a unique intergenerational tale, which focuses on the reasons that make Enrico Berlinguer not only an example of good politics, but above all a life example for many young people born even 20 years after his death. And it shows how his ideas, his moral tension and his political passion can still help the many who do not resign themselves to the status quo and want to fight for a different society.

  • Pierpaolo Farina
    Director
  • Pierpaolo Farina
    Writer
  • Fondazione Cespe
    Producer
  • Emanuele Fasano
    Original Soundtrack
  • Laura Berlinguer
    Key Cast
  • Luciana Castellina
    Key Cast
  • Zoe Cattarin
    Key Cast
  • Mattia Ciappi
    Key Cast
  • Franco Corti
    Key Cast
  • Lella Costa
    Key Cast
  • Antonio Di Dio
    Key Cast
  • Giuliano Ferilli
    Key Cast
  • Sonia Franceschini
    Key Cast
  • Alessandra Martino
    Key Cast
  • Francesco Racioppi
    Key Cast
  • Antonino Roseto
    Key Cast
  • Aldo Tortorella
    Key Cast
  • Lalla Trupia
    Key Cast
  • Filippo Maria Gori
    Assistant Director
  • Beatrice Mele
    Direct Sound Engineer
  • Matteo Calore
    Cameramen
  • Filippo Maria Gori
    Cameramen
  • Pierpaolo Farina
    Scene Photos
  • Sara Volpe
    Film editing
  • Pierpaolo Farina
    Archive Producer
  • Filippo Maria Gori
    Archive Producer
  • Matteo Serman
    Assistant Editors
  • Mattia Napoli
    Assistant Editors
  • Logos.Lux Studio
    Soundtrack recording and writing
  • Simone Lanza
    Sound editor & Mix
  • Silvia Pozzi
    Digital Colorist, Conforming
  • Pierpaolo Farina
    Titles
  • Silvia Pozzi
    DCP Mastering
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Berlinguer. A love story
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 17 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    February 28, 2025
  • Production Budget:
    70,000 EUR
  • Country of Origin:
    Italy
  • Country of Filming:
    Italy
  • Language:
    Italian
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital 4K
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1:85:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
  • Best Documentary - Sicilian Film Awards
    Palermo
    Italy
    September 13, 2025
    Best Documentary
  • Best Political Documentary - Los Angeles Documentary & Film Awards
    Los Angeles
    United States
    Best Political Documentary
  • Diploma di Merito - Festival del Cinema di Cefalù
    Cefalù
    Italy
    Diploma di Merito - Official Selection
  • Matera International Film Festival - MATIFF
    Matera
    Italy
    September 24, 2025
    Official Selection
  • Barcelona Indie Filmmakers Festival • BARCIFF
    Barcelona
    Spain
    Official Selection
  • Rome Prisma Film Awards
    Roma
    Italy
    Official Selection
  • Ischia Global Film & Music Festival
    Ischia
    Italy
    July 9, 2025
    Official Selection
  • Milano Film Fest
    Milan
    Italy
    June 7, 2025
    Italian premiere
    OFF Events
  • Ozzano dell'Emilia
    Ozzano dell'Emilia
    Italy
    June 17, 2025
  • Festival della Parola
    Parma
    Italy
    June 18, 2025
  • Mesagne
    Mesagne
    Italy
    June 20, 2025
  • Foggia
    Foggia
    Italy
    June 21, 2025
  • San Ferdinando di Puglia
    San Ferdinando di Puglia
    Italy
  • Festa dell'Unità di Roma
    Roma
    Italy
    June 22, 2025
  • Calitri
    Calitri
    Italy
    July 6, 2025
  • Scafati
    Scafati
    Italy
    July 7, 2025
  • Pianura
    Napoli
    Italy
    July 8, 2025
  • Roccanova
    Roccanova (Potenza)
    Italy
    August 20, 2025
  • I luoghi e le parole di Enrico Berlinguer
    Firenze
    Italy
    September 7, 2025
    Tuscany Premiere
  • Sesto Fiorentino (Firenze)
    Sesto Fiorentino (Firenze)
    Italy
    September 8, 2025
  • Milano
    Milano
    Italy
    September 29, 2025
Director Biography - Pierpaolo Farina

Pierpaolo Farina was born and lives in Milan. Sociologist and writer, in 2009, at the age of twenty, he created enricoberlinguer.it, the first website on Enrico Berlinguer, around which in a few years a web community of over half a million people was structured.
After the extraordinary success obtained online, in 2013 he published the book «Casa per Casa, Strada per Strada» (House by House, Street by Street), the first collection of writings on the former Secretary of the PCI, with the preface by master of italian journalism Eugenio Scalfari. The book immediately became a bestseller, with more than 12.000 copies sold throughout Italy.
Founder in 2010 of the blog Qualcosa di Sinistra ("Something of Left"), awarded as the best Italian political blog in 2014, in 2021 he obtained a PhD in Organized Crime Studies with a thesis on the relationship between mafia and capitalism in Lombardy, with which the following year he won the national awards dedicated to the judge Giovani Falcone and the lawyer Giorgio Ambrosoli.
Founder of WikiMafia – Free Encyclopedia on the Mafia, since 2023 he is the director the International Anti-Mafia Festival in Milan.
After having worked as a consultant on various Italian television and radio programmes, he is currently a freelance researcher and member of the Anti-Mafia Technical-Scientific Committee of the Lombardy Region.
"Berlinguer. A love story" is his first film.

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Director Statement

When Berlinguer spoke, people were happy because they felt part of a community that really wanted to change the world. "Berlinguer. A Love Story" tells this and much more about one of the most important pages of Italian and European History.