Rome Film Festival to showcase restored Libera in 4K

The 4K restoration of Libera, the debut film by Pappi Corsicato, will have its world premiere at the 20th edition of the Rome Film Festival. Originally released in 1993, Libera revealed a visionary talent and introduced a fresh, surprising way of portraying Italy through cinema, gaining recognition both nationally and across Europe, CE Report quotes ANSA.

The restoration was carried out by Cinecittà in its own laboratories, under the supervision of Corsicato himself, and the film’s cinematographers Roberto Meddi and Raffaele Mertes.

The restored film will be distributed by Lucky Red, with support from Urban Vision.

Born from a short film shot in 1991, Libera became a feature-length work structured into three episodes — Aurora, Carmela, and Libera — each named after one of the three female protagonists. It premiered at the 1993 Berlin Film Festival, where it was met with surprise and critical acclaim, later winning both the Nastro d’Argento and the Ciak d’Oro for Best First Feature.

Corsicato, fresh from a set experience with Pedro Almodóvar, infused the film with eclecticism and visual inventiveness reminiscent of the Spanish master — yet entirely original and deeply rooted in Naples. The film bursts with ideas, themes, cinematic references, and contemporary elements, particularly exploring eros in bold and kaleidoscopic forms, intertwined with the notion of fate.

Libera also marked the debut of Iaia Forte, who would go on to form a long-term artistic partnership with Corsicato, and featured actors such as Cristina Donadio, Ninni Bruschetta, and Enzo Moscato, who delivers a memorable performance.

Pappi Corsicato commented:

"The successful journey of Libera continues today with its restoration, which brings it back to life at the Rome Film Festival. I hope new generations — those who weren’t even born when the film came out — will now have the chance to see it. Even if just to get a glimpse of a different way of making cinema."