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.
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Pierpaolo FarinaDirector
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Pierpaolo FarinaWriter
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Fondazione CespeProducer
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Emanuele FasanoOriginal Soundtrack
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Laura BerlinguerKey Cast
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Luciana CastellinaKey Cast
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Zoe CattarinKey Cast
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Mattia CiappiKey Cast
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Franco CortiKey Cast
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Lella CostaKey Cast
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Antonio Di DioKey Cast
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Giuliano FerilliKey Cast
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Sonia FranceschiniKey Cast
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Alessandra MartinoKey Cast
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Francesco RacioppiKey Cast
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Antonino RosetoKey Cast
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Aldo TortorellaKey Cast
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Lalla TrupiaKey Cast
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Filippo Maria GoriAssistant Director
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Beatrice MeleDirect Sound Engineer
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Matteo CaloreCameramen
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Filippo Maria GoriCameramen
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Pierpaolo FarinaScene Photos
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Sara VolpeFilm editing
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Pierpaolo FarinaArchive Producer
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Filippo Maria GoriArchive Producer
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Matteo SermanAssistant Editors
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Mattia NapoliAssistant Editors
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Logos.Lux StudioSoundtrack recording and writing
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Simone LanzaSound editor & Mix
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Silvia PozziDigital Colorist, Conforming
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Pierpaolo FarinaTitles
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Silvia PozziDCP Mastering
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Project Title (Original Language):Berlinguer. A love story
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Project Type:Documentary
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Runtime:1 hour 17 minutes
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Completion Date:February 28, 2025
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Production Budget:70,000 EUR
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Country of Origin:Italy
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Country of Filming:Italy
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Language:Italian
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Shooting Format:Digital 4K
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Aspect Ratio:1:85:1
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:Yes
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Student Project:No
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Digital Cinema Package:Unavailable
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Best Documentary - Sicilian Film AwardsPalermo
Italy
September 13, 2025
Best Documentary -
Best Political Documentary - Los Angeles Documentary & Film AwardsLos Angeles
United States
Best Political Documentary -
Diploma di Merito - Festival del Cinema di CefalùCefalù
Italy
Diploma di Merito - Official Selection -
Matera International Film Festival - MATIFFMatera
Italy
September 24, 2025
Official Selection -
Barcelona Indie Filmmakers Festival • BARCIFFBarcelona
Spain
Official Selection -
Rome Prisma Film AwardsRoma
Italy
Official Selection -
Ischia Global Film & Music FestivalIschia
Italy
July 9, 2025
Official Selection -
Milano Film FestMilan
Italy
June 7, 2025
Italian premiere
OFF Events -
Ozzano dell'EmiliaOzzano dell'Emilia
Italy
June 17, 2025 -
Festival della ParolaParma
Italy
June 18, 2025 -
MesagneMesagne
Italy
June 20, 2025 -
FoggiaFoggia
Italy
June 21, 2025 -
San Ferdinando di PugliaSan Ferdinando di Puglia
Italy -
Festa dell'Unità di RomaRoma
Italy
June 22, 2025 -
CalitriCalitri
Italy
July 6, 2025 -
ScafatiScafati
Italy
July 7, 2025 -
PianuraNapoli
Italy
July 8, 2025 -
RoccanovaRoccanova (Potenza)
Italy
August 20, 2025 -
I luoghi e le parole di Enrico BerlinguerFirenze
Italy
September 7, 2025
Tuscany Premiere -
Sesto Fiorentino (Firenze)Sesto Fiorentino (Firenze)
Italy
September 8, 2025 -
MilanoMilano
Italy
September 29, 2025
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.
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.