The Gift

Giuliano Fratini : 2019
Il Dono

It is 1983. Andrei Tarkovsky's permit to work abroad has expired and he is legally required to return home. He is in Italy, shooting the film Nostalgia. He understands from the messages of some friends and colleagues that the Soviet Union is not awaiting him with open arms. His life there will be even tougher than before. So he decides to break with Soviet authorities and, a year before the Milan Conference during which he will publicly announce his decision, he leaves his friends who are hosting him in Rome and goes into hiding. The documentary traces the reasons why Tarkovsky decided to give up the life he had led until then and hide in an unknown location. Even there, he cannot feel safe. The Soviets with their apparatus do not let their citizens go that easily. The documentary features archival recordings and interviews with witnesses to those events, including Krzysztof Zanussi and Giuseppe Lanci. Giuliano Fratini's first full-length documentary premiered at Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema 2019, and had its European premiere in competition at Warsaw International Film Festival 2019.