Paola Randi's Se domani non torno was presented in preview on 23 October at the Rome Film Festival with Alice nella Città, and Notorious Pictures will release it in cinemas on 5 November.
Gino Cecchettin said telling the story brings pain into the open, and that the Fondazione Giulia Cecchettin wants to carry the message further into the community and the country.
Se domani non torno, directed by Paola Randi, was presented in preview on 23 October 2026 at the Rome Film Festival, held together with Alice nella Città. The film is loosely inspired by Cara Giulia, the book Gino Cecchettin wrote with Marco Franzoso, and it follows the case from the perspective of the victim's family. Its story is set in Vigonovo, a small town in the province of Venice, and covers the days after Giulia Cecchettin, a 22-year-old who was a few days from graduating, disappeared in November 2023. Her former boyfriend, Filippo Turetta, later killed her and was sentenced to life imprisonment. The film never names Turetta or shows him on screen.
The narrative moves through the media storm that followed the disappearance, the family's fear, the discovery of the body and Turetta's arrest. It also portrays Elena Cecchettin, Giulia's older sister, who spoke publicly about the links between such crimes, rape culture and patriarchy, and Gino's decision to found the Fondazione Giulia Cecchettin. Filippo Timi plays Gino, Sabrina Martina plays Giulia, Tecla Bossi plays Elena and Tommaso Allione plays the brother, Davide. Notorious Pictures produced the film and will distribute it in Italian cinemas from 5 November.
At the press conference, Gino Cecchettin said that saying yes to the project was a very difficult choice, and that a young woman who had approached him on a plane had told him Giulia's story had kept her alive. He framed storytelling as a way of bringing a pain into the open, where others may find something to hold on to.
“Telling stories, in a way, means telling of a pain. Someone can see in that pain a path to salvation.”
He admitted that some things are better kept private, but said he had given himself a reason to speak anyway. He also insisted that silence has a cost.
“If we do not tell the pain, unfortunately we relive that pain.”
On the purpose of the film, he said that it should leave viewers with something and that the foundation wants young people to see themselves in Giulia's life, which he described as more than her last day.
“The purpose of a film like this is to leave something with those who watch it.”
Filippo Timi, who plays Gino, told La Repubblica that he first felt it was too soon to tell the story and feared it would be exploited, but began crying when he reached the fourth scene of the screenplay. He said the scene that moved him most is one in which Gino asks his daughter to teach him. Timi also said the role led him to think about how he was raised and how a person can meet violence without repeating it, calling the role both wonderful and frightening.
Il Fatto Quotidiano wrote that the film aims to open a debate about patriarchal culture rather than to close the case, and that the Fondazione Giulia Cecchettin is fully involved in the project. The screenplay was written by Paola Randi with Lisa Nur Sultan. The cast also includes Rossana Mortara, Lia Grieco, Denis Fasolo and Linda Caridi. The film's festival premiere places it among the titles of the 21st Festa del Cinema di Roma.
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Paola Randi's Se domani non torno was presented in preview at the Rome Film Festival on 23 October, with Gino Cecchettin speaking at the press conference. The film reaches Italian cinemas on 5 November.
AI text based on reports by La Repubblica.it, Il Fatto Quotidiano, Open and other publishers. Published .