It will be released in cinemas only on 2, 3 and 4 February 2026 as a special event from Nexo Studios. Franco Battiato. Il lungo viaggio , a biopic directed by Renato De Maria and starring Dario Aita, retracing the evolution of the great artist from radical experimentation to evenings alongside Giorgio Gaber and Ombretta Colli, through to pop success, beginning in Sicily, passing through 1970s Milan, and finally returning to his beloved homeland, placing at its centre his true journey: the search for the inner self.
Written by Monica Rametta and co-produced by Rai Fiction and Casta Diva Pictures, it stars Dario Aita as Battiato, Elena Radonicich as his friend Fleur, Simona Malato as the artist’s mother, Ermes Frattini as his friend Juri Camisasca, and Nicole Petrelli as Giuni Russo, whilst Giulio Forges Davanzati plays Giusto Pio, co-author of many of the most important songs of Battiato’s career. The film also features Anna Castiglia and a special appearance by Joan Thiele. Cinematography by Sara Purgatorio CCS. The original score is by Vittorio Cosma with Giuvazza Maggiore.
The film is distributed exclusively in cinemas by Nexo Studios, with RTL 102.5 as official radio partner and in collaboration with MYmovies. It will later be broadcast on Rai 1.
Click here to find your nearest cinema:
https://www.nexostudios.it/movie/franco-battiato-il-lungo-viaggio/#cercacinema
Sara Purgatorio told us:
«‘In tune with the unique figure and great creativity of Franco Battiato, whom we all know and have loved, on this project the director Renato De Maria did not want any initial visual references and encouraged me to express myself freely. Instead, we accompanied the telling of Battiato’s story together through his artistic evolution, inspiring one another in the process and following, as far as possible, the character’s creative vertigo, in a relationship of total mutual trust. For this reason, it was an unforgettable experience. We deliberately gave up digital visual effects in order to work in a more handcrafted way during shooting, adapting to the period and to Battiato’s spiritual approach, to his world. In particular, in terms of my lighting and technical choices, I mixed lenses and different visual registers in colour, camera movement and atmosphere; I invented filters, at times following the intuition of the moment.’
