“We wanted to show the real Patrizia Cavalli, up close, and give audiences the chance to become familiar with the person behind the poet. Meeting Patrizia Cavalli involves spending time in her rooms, with her hats, books, and armchairs; the table in the living room, the large photo of Elsa Morante, in the very place she lived from her first forays into poetry – the same place where she discovered the world and both her outer and inner life. […] The greatest contemporary Italian poet, who died in June 2022, speaks of that life and the world at large through her own voice. All we did was accompany her.” [Annalena Benini and Francesco Piccolo]

Annalena Benini has worked for Il Foglio since 2001, founding and editing the weekly supplement “Il figlio”, which is also a podcast; she is also the editor of the cultural magazine Review. She wrote the book La scrittura o la vita (Rizzoli, 2018) and edited the collection I racconti delle donne (Einaudi, 2019). Her latest book is Annalena (Einaudi, 2023). Benini wrote and hosted the RAI programs “Romanzo italiano” and “Pietre d’inciampo”. In 2021 she received the Viareggio Repaci Journalism Award. In 2023 she was appointed editorial director of the Turin International Book Fair.

Francesco Piccolo is an author and screenwriter. He has scripted films by, among others, Nanni Moretti (Il Caimano, Habemus Papam, Mia madre), Silvio Soldini (Agata e la tempesta, Giorni e nuvole), Paolo Virzì (My name is Tanino, La prima cosa bella, Il capitale umano, Ella & John, Notti magiche, Siccità), Francesca Archibugi (Il nome del figlio, Gli sdraiati, Vivere, Il colibrì), Daniele Luchetti (Momenti di trascurabile felicità, Lacci), and Marco Bellocchio (Il traditore). He also scripted the TV series L’amica geniale and La vita bugiarda degli adulti. His most recent books are: Il desiderio di essere come tutti (2014 Strega Prize), L’animale che mi porto dentro (2018), the trilogy Momenti trascurabili (2010-2020), and La bella confusione (2023). He is contributor to la Repubblica.