For the third year in a row, Cinélibri viewers will have the opportunity to watch selected Italian adaptations of literary works. The already established module Italian Screens, or “Journey to Italy“, includes eight premiere titles, including seven full-length feature films and one documentary. We hasten to highlight the charming romantic drama “It Will Happen Tonight“ with the handwriting of Nani Moretti, Mario Martone's new temptation, entitled “Craziness“, and the captivating story of the personality and work of Brunello Cucinelli, by Giuseppe Tornatore!
Poetic and unconventional in form, “Brunello: The Gentleman Visionary“ is yet another testament to Giuseppe Tornatore's unsurpassed master of dramatic vision and epic scope in cinema. The director of “New Cinema “Paradiso“ and “The Legend of the Pianist“ combines documentary footage, archival materials and artistic reconstructions to turn the life of Brunello Cucinelli into a true cinematic feast. Few know that Tornatore began his career precisely as an author of documentary films. Tracing Cuccinelli's footsteps from his childhood in Umbria to the building of his luxury empire, the film is less interested in fashion and business achievements than in his ideas about dignity, beauty, community and the meaning of human perseverance.
“A Story“ is an intimate drama about two people who, after years of living together, rediscover themselves — first as individuals and then as a couple. It is about Erica and Mauro, recreated on screen by Alba Rohrwacher and Guido Caprino. When their daughter goes to study in another city, their seemingly peaceful life begins to fall apart. The real theme of this film, universal in its messages, is not so much the crisis of a marriage as the crisis of personality. The question “What remains of us when we stop living only for others?“ can be addressed to any viewer over a certain age. “A Story“ is the directorial debut of actress Anna Follietta, known for her roles in “Perfect Strangers“ by Paolo Genovese and “If Life Gives You Lemons“ by Ciro D‘Emilio.
A screen adaptation of the novel of the same name by Domenico Starnone, the psychological drama “Cudoria“ is the work of Mario Martone, the multi-award-winning director and screenwriter, whom Cinélibri viewers know well. After bringing to the big screen the characters of Elena Ferrante (“Sad Love“) and Ermanno Ria (“Nostalgia“), and making a turn to Rome with the biographical drama “Outside”, now Martone returns to the territory of Naples with his new work, in which Tony Servillo himself shines. The eminent actor transforms into the image of a famous book illustrator at the end of his career, forced to get to know his infant grandson “up close”. After its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, this ironic battle between generations, which also acts as a parable about the ruthless competition that life condemns us to, will undoubtedly delight Bulgarian fans of Martone and Servillo.
A co-production of Italy and France, Nani Moretti's “It Will Happen Tonight“ is a beautiful and passionate story, told non-linearly and with an undisguised desire to encourage all who continue to believe in the “shameless“ logic of the heart. This is not the first time that the distinguished Italian director has resorted to the work of the Israeli writer Eshkol Nevo. In 2021, he adapted his novel “Three Floors“, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the “Palme d'Or“. This year, nearly four decades after his last appearance in Venice, Moretti returns to the city of romance with perhaps the most romantic film in the Cinélibri 2026 program, inspired by the collection of short stories “Hungry Heart“.
The audience will also have the pleasure of meeting three special guests. Alina Marazzi is an Italian director and visual artist, who has established herself with auteur documentary and feature films exploring the mechanisms of memory, family relationships and social transformations. Her latest film is the biographical drama “The Girl with the Camera“ (2026), a film adaptation of Helena Janeček's award-winning novel "Strega", which tells the story of photographer Gerda Taro, who died during the Spanish Civil War. The world premiere of the film, which skillfully combines fiction and archival materials, took place as part of the "Horizons" program at the Venice Film Festival. In Sofia, Alina Maratsi will present the film on October 29 at 6:00 p.m. at the "Odeon" cinema.
After the world premiere in Locarno, director and screenwriter Sergio Castro San Martin arrives in Bulgaria for the Bulgarian premiere of his film “The Chilean“, a co-production of Italy, Chile and Switzerland. The story draws inspiration from the book “Aldo Marín, cannon fodder“ by Chilean journalist and writer Juan Cristóbal Guarello, which is a documentary journalistic study of the life of the Chilean revolutionary who fled to Italy after the Pinochet coup. Viewers will be able to see the film on November 5 at 7:00 PM at the “Lumière” cinema and personally ask the director their questions.
On October 22 at 8:00 PM at the “Odeon“ cinema producer Valentine Levi will present her film “Francesca and Giovanni: Love and the Mafia“. Directed by Simona Izzo and Ricky Tognazzi, this extraordinary drama is based on a book by Felice Cavallaro and tells the story of the brave Italian magistrates Francesca Morvillo and Giovanni Falcone, companions in life and in the unequal fight against the Sicilian mafia. The action begins in Palermo in 1979, illuminating the case of 15-year-old Dino, accused of murdering his father. The writers focus on Morvillo's point of view, as Falcone is already well-known as a symbol of resistance to the mafia, transforming the sentimental story of their closeness into a story of moral choice.
The program also includes the temperamental film “The Sicilian Rose“, inspired by the biographical book “The Love I Carry“ by Luca Torregrossa. The film recreates the turbulent life of Rosa Balistreri – a legendary figure in Sicilian folk music in the 20th century. She is not just a singer, but a cantastorie – a storyteller through songs that are distinguished by a strong social charge. Born in 1927 into a very poor family, Rosa leads a difficult life, marked by deprivation and violence. Her distinctive, hoarse and dramatic voice became a trademark and symbol of Sicily.