Scripted

On Monday, February 5, the TV movie "La Rosa dell'Istria" will land on Rai Uno in prime time, a co-production of Rai Fiction - Publispei - Venice Film, produced by Verdiana Bixio, Alessandro Centenaro, and Maximiliano Hernando Bruno, and directed by Tiziana Aristarco (Mina Settembre, Un Medico in Famiglia).

The TV film, loosely inspired by the novel "Chi ha paura dell'uomo nero?" by Graziella Fiorentin, published by Corbaccio, is set in 1943 and tells the heartbreaking and inhumane tragedy of Italian exiles from the territories of Istria and Dalmatia during and after World War II.

The story of Maddalena Braico (Gracjela Kicaj) is a coming-of-age tale set in a complex historical context that begins immediately after September 8, 1943. After the armistice, the Italian army is without directives, the Istrian population is defenseless, and General Tito advances with ethnic cleansing intentions to annex Istrian territory to Yugoslavia, while the Germans reorganize with the troops of the Social Republic. The situation becomes increasingly dramatic, and Maddalena and her family are forced to abandon their land and home forever.

Her father, Antonio, played by Andrea Pennacchi (Tutto chiede Salvezza, Petra), seeks refuge with his brother, who has been living in a small town in Friuli for years. To reach him, the Braico family is forced into a daring escape where they lose track of Niccolò, Maddalena's beloved brother, played by Costantino Seghi (Eppure Cadiamo Felici). In the new school in Friuli, Maddalena is labeled as a foreigner, her father struggles to find work, and the entire family experiences the sad condition of being exiles, uprooted from their land, habits, and everything that was once their life in a homeland that should have welcomed them but instead rejects them.

Despite the adversities, Maddalena cultivates her great passion for painting and, along with Leo (Eugenio Franceschini, known for Non mi lasciare" and Nero a metà), whom she meets by chance, discovers her immense talent and manages to build her future as a woman and a painter.

"The Rose of Istria" is an intimate and intense story that delves into the lives of men and women who, despite themselves, had to seek salvation far from their own land.

The TV movie "La Rosa dell'Istria" is written by Maximiliano Hernando Bruno and Angelo Petrella and is produced with the support of FVG Film Commission - PromoTurismoFVG and the Chamber of Commerce of Venezia Giulia Trieste Gorizia - Fondo Gorizia.