Factual

 Fremantle has secured the exclusive global option rights from the official right owners to create an in-depth documentary looking at the incredible life and cultural impact of Italian actress, recording artist, presenter, model, and cultural icon - Raffaella Carrà.

Her unprecedented career as the superstar of Italian TV spanned an incredible seven decades, as she became a symbol of liberation & women’s rights. Ms. Carrà continually pushed the boundaries, challenging conservative morality, and presenting herself as a free, self-aware, and independent woman.

In 1965, she signed a deal with 20th Century Fox, following in the footsteps of artists such as Gina Lollobrigida, Sophia Loren and Virna Lisi, and appeared in the film Von Ryan's Express alongside Frank Sinatra, Edward Mulhare, and Trevor Howard.

Ms. Carrà made an early impression when she became the first Italian women to reveal her belly button on TV in 1970 during the opening song of “Canzonissima,” a prime time show on RAI’s main channel. This act caused huge controversy and debate in the Italian society.

The next year, while she sang “Tuca Tuca”, she and a male dance partner touched each other suggestively. RAI for a time banned the act considered too explicit.

At this time her incredible popularity grew in Spain and across Europe and Latin America as her reputation as a leading music artist continued to grow, with albums such as Forte Forte Forte, released in 36 countries around the world.

Her huge popularity and commercial success, especially in Italy and Spain, saw Ms. Carrà challenge the status quo. Through her work, she helped women be more confident about their bodies and their sexuality, encouraging everyone to feel free to express themselves. She was to become a strong supporter and icon of the LGBTQ+ community and was recognised at the 2017 World Pride Madrid.

The new Fremantle documentary will chart the incredible life story of one of Italy’s most inspirational women. Born in Bologna in 1943, she was to rise from very humble beginnings to become the ‘lady of Italian television’. Ms. Carrà sadly died earlier this year aged 78.

The project has been spearheaded at Fremantle by Andrea Scrosati, (Group COO, CEO Continental Europe), Gabriele Immirzi (CEO, Italy), Nathalie García (CEO, Spain) alongside Mandy Chang (Global Head of Documentaries) and Alessandro De Rita (Italian Head of Documentaries). The project will also be supported in Spain by Fernando Jerez (MD, EN Cero Coma Producciones).


The Raffaella Carrà documentary further underlines Fremantle’s commitment to continue to grow its high-end documentary slate with a focus on meaningful and culturally relevant titles. These include the powerful Planet Sex documentary series, exploring human sexuality, hosted, and co-created by Cara Delevingne, and the cinematic climate research documentary Artic Drift. Also, Sky Original docuseries Kingdom of Dreams, a visually dazzling chronicle of the fashion world spanning three decades - from the early-1990s to the 2010s – and BAL, which tells the story of the creation, launch and inaugural season of the new NBA backed professional basketball league in Africa featuring 12 club teams from across the African continent.