If I Don't Come Back Tomorrow, film about the story of Giulia Cecchettin at the Rome Film Festival

Freely inspired by the book Dear Giulia, written by Gino Cecchettin with Marco Franzoso and published by Rizzoli, the film retraces the days following Giulia's disappearance on 11 November 2023, on the eve of her graduation. At the center of the story are the father Gino, played by Filippo Timi, the sister Elena, played by Tecla Bossi, and the brother Davide, played by Tommaso Allione. Alongside them, Sabrina Martina plays Giulia, whose presence continues to live in memories, objects and drawings, even when her absence becomes unbearable. Elena's path, which denounces the link between feminicide and patriarchal culture, and that of Gino, also called to question the role of men, become the heart of an awareness that goes beyond the boundaries of the family. Produced by Notorious Pictures in collaboration with Mediaset and Sky, If Tomorrow I Don't Return will be presented at the 21st Rome Film Festival, in the Grand Public section, and will arrive in Italian cinemas on 5 November 2026, distributed by Notorious Pictures.

From the pain of a family to a collective battle

In the director's notes, Paola Randi explains that she found in Gino Cecchettin's book the key to approaching such a painful story: absence, which paradoxically makes Giulia always present and transforms every member of the family. The director, already author of Into Paradiso, Tito and the Aliens and The Story of Frank and Nina, chooses to explore the emotional memory of the protagonists, with its gaps, contradictions and memories that change over time.

The screenplay, written by Randi herself together with Lisa Nur Sultan, author of On My Skin and the Circeo series, also addresses the weight of media exposure and attacks on social media, showing how difficult it can be to go through mourning under the incessant gaze of the public. The title takes up the lines of the poem by Cristina Torres Cáceres which has become a symbol of the fight against violence against women. The objective is not to add hype to an already known story, but to invite recognition of the collective dimension of feminicide and the need for a culture based on respect.