Vermiglio (film)

In 1944, two Italian men, Attilio and Pietro, have deserted their army posts in Germany, and come to Attilio's home, the remote Trentino mountain village of Vermiglio, to seek refuge.

The village has a one room school, run by a stern teacher, Cesare, Attilio's uncle. Cesare and his wife Adele have just had their 9th child, but the baby boy dies in infancy (as had a previous child).

Lucia — their eldest daughter — falls in love with Pietro, who is of Sicilian origin. Lucia, becomes pregnant by Pietro and he agrees to marry her. Her aunt sees that Lucia is already pregnant prior to the wedding.

Various subplots revolve around the school, Catholic traditions, Lucia's siblings and the difficulties Adele faces trying to raise and feed a large family with little money or support from the patriarch Cesare.

Once news of the end of the war arrives, Pietro returns to Sicily with the aim of letting his loved ones know he has survived, promising Lucia he will write and return soon. However, after some time goes by with no word from Pietro, the family learns from the newspaper that Pietro was already married to a Sicilian woman and has been killed by her.

Meanwhile, Lucia gives birth to Antonia, the baby she was expecting with Pietro. Pietro's death devastates Lucia, who falls into despair and rejects the child, contemplating suicide, from which her brother Dino saves her. During her gradual recovery, Lucia travels to Sicily to seek closure, where she has a close encounter with Pietro's first wife and visits her husband's grave. Meanwhile, she has entrusted the child to an orphanage, where her younger sister Ada, who has become a nun, now works. Finally, Lucia decides to go to the city to work for a wealthy family, promising herself she will return later for her child.

• Giuseppe De Domenico as Pietro Riso
• Tommaso Ragno as Cesare Graziadei
• Martina Scrinzi as Lucia Graziadei
• Roberta Rovelli as Adele
• Carlotta Gamba as Virginia
• Orietta Notari as Zia Cesira
• Sara Serraiocco as Anna Pennisi

Principal photography started on 28 August 2023,^[1] and shooting wrapped in December.^[6] The film was shot between the Vermiglio, Carciato and Comasine towns in the Trentino-Alto Adige region.^[7] It is produced by Cinedora (Italy), Charades (France), and Versus (Belgium).^[8] Delpero decided to make the film after her father's death as a way to help ensure that the traditions in which she had grown up were not lost, including conducting many interviews with local people during pre-production.^[9][10]

The film world-premiered in competition at the 81st Venice International Film Festival.^[11][12] It made its North American premiere at the 49th Toronto International Film Festival.^[13]

It was featured in the Limelight section of the 54th International Film Festival Rotterdam to be screened in February 2025.^[14]

• List of submissions to the 97th Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film
• List of Italian submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film