TORONTO – Renzo Piano’s scarab-shaped music halls in Rome recently hosted the photocall for Director Alessandro Tonda’s new film Il Nibbio. The film stars Claudio Santamaria as the heroic secret service agent who died while saving journalist Giuliana Sgrena – kidnapped in 2005 by Iraqi terrorists in Baghdad. Rounding out the principal cast are Sonia Bergamesco (as Giuliana Sgrena) and Anna Ferzetti (as Rosa Calipari), who were also on site for the event at the Parco della Musica. 

Il Nibbio was officially released a week ago on March 4th to mark the 20th anniversary of Agent Nicola Calipari’s death (March 4, 2005). Calipari’s death followed the aftermath of the US invasion and retaliation against Iraq, which was part of the broader “War on Terror” launched after the 911 attacks. Italy, under Berlusconi, was a strong ally for the US in Iraq – support which included over 3,000 Italian troops deployed in Iraq.

But on February 4th 2005, Giuliana Sgrena, a non-embedded Italian journalist working for a communist newspaper (Il Manifesto) in Baghdad was kidnapped by insurgents. SISMI, the Italian Military Intelligence service, negotiated Sgrena’s release with an alleged ransom payment in the millions. Calipari had been a key figure in her release and accompanied her in their escort toward the Baghdad International Airport, a route that at the time was widely considered as the most dangerous road in Iraq.

US troops consequently and mistakenly fired at the vehicle killing Calipari with a single bullet to the temple, and injuring Sgrena in the debacle. Calipari had died shielding the journalist from the unexpected bullet blast. An investigation of the debacle acquitted the US soldiers of any wrongdoing, as they claimed the rescue vehicle was speeding and the driver “ignored repeated warning shots before they fired at the vehicle”.

While heads of state in Italy and the US agreed that the shooting was accidental, some on the Italian side disputed two elements of the account, as Sgrena claimed that the US Soldiers did not fire warning shots. The other point of disagreement was around whether the Americans were informed of Calipari’s position and operation.

The screenplay was penned by five-time David Di Donatello winner Sandro Petraglia, known best for his gritty true storytelling in Romanzo Criminale and Suburra. Filming took place in Rome where some of the real locations were used like the exteriors of Forte Braschi, in the Trionfale neighbourhood and Palazzo Chigi, the seat of the Italian Government, in Piazza Colonna. Scenes in Baghdad and Dubai were shot in Morocco.

The film is distributed by Notorious Pictures and is currently in theatres.

(Images courtesy of Notorious Pictures)        

Massimo Volpe is a filmmaker and freelance writer from Toronto: he writes reviews of Italian films/content on Netflix