Germany’s Beta Film has acquired the international distribution rights to The Panini Family – Album of Dreams, a six-part Italian drama chronicling the true story behind the celebrated Panini sticker empire. Produced by Indigo Film in collaboration with Rai Fiction, the 6x60-minute series is directed by Letizia Lamartire, whose credits include Netflix’s The Law According to Lidia Poët.

Spanning three decades, the family saga begins in 1940, when the Paninis arrive in Modena with eight children, little money and high hopes for the future. At the centre of the story is family matriarch Olga Panini, whose determination holds the household together amid the instability and deprivation of wartime Italy. Olga eventually takes a chance on purchasing a small newsstand, which becomes both the family’s livelihood and its window onto the wider world. From there, the Paninis begin investing in a deceptively modest and accessible product: collectible stickers.

The drama follows the family through its initial failures, financial sacrifices and business gambles as its members gradually turn their idea into an international enterprise. The narrative culminates in the company’s breakthrough during the 1970 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, when Panini’s football stickers and accompanying albums started developing into a global collecting phenomenon.

Serena Rossi, known from Diabolik and the popular Rai series Mina Settembre, leads the cast as Olga, portrayed as the emotional and practical driving force behind the family’s success. She is joined by Suburra actor Simone Liberati, Benedetta Cimatti (Love Divine), SKAM Italia and Everything Calls for Salvation star Federico Cesari, Luca di Sessa, and The Good Mothers’ Samuele Teneggi.

The ensemble also includes Edoardo Pesce, whose credits encompass Dogman and My Brilliant Friend, whilst Barbora Bobulova, recently seen in Portobello – The Fall of Enzo Tortora and previously in In Treatment, makes a special appearance.

Indigo Film’s recent television output includes Amazon Prime Video’s The Bad Guy, while the Rome-based outfit is also known internationally for producing Paolo Sorrentino’s Oscar-winning The Great Beauty.

The Panini Family – Album of Dreams is being produced with backing from Sanfelice 1893 Banca Popolare and the Italian Ministry of Culture’s Fund for the Development of Investments in Film and Audiovisual Works. Further support comes from the Emilia-Romagna Film Commission as well as the Municipality of Modena, the Fondazione di Modena and the Modena Chamber of Commerce.