Filming has been underway in Rome, since the end of February, on Michela Cescon’s new directorial effort, Desiderio, whose wrap date is set for late March. Following on from Occhi Blu [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] starring Valeria Golino in 2021, the Treviso-born actress – unearthed via Matteo Garrone’s First Love before starring in films along the lines of Vincere [+lee también:
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entrevista: Cannes 2009 Marco Belloc…
entrevista: Filippo Timi - actor
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entrevista: Marco Tullio Giordana
entrevista: Riccardo Tozzi
ficha de la película], Piazza Fontana: The Italian Conspiracy [+lee también:
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ficha de la película] (winning the 2012 David di Donatello for Best Supporting Actress and the Nastro d’Argento in the same category) among many other movies, more recently seen in Ivano De Matteo’s Una figlia [+lee también:
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entrevista: Ivano De Matteo
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The film’s subject and screenplay are penned by Cescon herself, in league with Doriana Leondeff (awarded multiple trophies for her work on The Tasters [+lee también:
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entrevista: Silvio Soldini
ficha de la película], The Right Distance [+lee también:
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ficha de la película], Bread and Tulips) and Massimo Gaudioso (the winner of numerous awards for Strangeness [+lee también:
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ficha de la película], Dogman [+lee también:
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entrevista: Matteo Garrone
ficha de la película] and Gomorrah [+lee también:
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entrevista: Domenico Procacci
entrevista: Jean Labadie
entrevista: Matteo Garrone
ficha de la película], among other works). In the late Eighties, in the eternal and timeless city of Rome, Matteo meets Livia while at university. He dreams of becoming a taster, she’s still undecided over her future. They feel an immediate attraction for one another which lays bare the social differences and insecurities typical of their age. But when Livia moves to London to find her path in life, these unprecedented feelings start to seem like a teenage illusion.

Years later, Matteo has become a journalist. He’s chosen the serenity of family life and is married to Anna with two children. But then he unexpectedly bumps into Livia: she’s hiding a secret and her being in Rome is no coincidence. Distance and time have done nothing to weaken their bond: it re-emerges as a love which demands courage and responsibility, and which triggers considerable consequences. But, for all the decisions they make and the things that happen in their lives, maybe it’s outside of their control…

The enamoured lead couple is brought to life by Enrico Borello (40 secondi [+lee también:
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ficha de la película], Forbidden City [+lee también:
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ficha de la película]) and Romana Maggiora Vergano (the acting revelation from There Is Still Tomorrow [+lee también:
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entrevista: Paola Cortellesi
ficha de la película], awarded the 2025 Best Actress Nastro d’Argento for The Time It Takes [+lee también:
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entrevista: Francesca Comencini
ficha de la película] and recently seen in Marco Bellocchio’s series, Portobello – The Fall of Enzo Tortora [+lee también:
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entrevista: Marco Bellocchio
ficha de la serie]).

Desiderio is produced by Lionello Cerri and Cristiana Mainardi on behalf of Lumière & Co. together with RAI Cinema. The feature film is made with support from the Italian Ministry of Culture’s Film and Audiovisual Investment Development Fund.