'Il Nibbio' remembers Nicola Calipari. Locations in Rome and Morocco
A film remembering the life of Nicola Calipari – a veteran secret service agent who died saving the life of “Il Manifesto” journalist Giuliana Sgrena, kidnapped in Iraq by a terrorist cell – is being released in 2025 to mark the 20th anniversary of his death (March 4, 2005).
Il Nibbio, the second feature film from Alessandro Tonda, stars Claudio Santamaria as Calipari, Sonia Bergamasco as Giuliana Sgrena and Anna Ferzetti as Rosa Calipari. The film will be distributed in theatres from March 6 by Notorius Pictures.
Il Nibbio is a Notorious Pictures co-production with Rai Cinema and Tarantula, in collaboration with Netflix and Alkon Communications with the support of the regional fund Wallimages, with the special collaboration of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, the support of the External Information and Security Agency (AISE), the State Police, the Prefecture of Rome, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Italian Embassy in Morocco and MedOr Leonardo Foundation as a cultural partner.
The film is also supported by the Centre Cinematographique Marocain and the Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco in Italy.
Locations in Rome and Morocco for the film about Nicola Calipari
Il Nibbio recounts the complex negotiation by the Italian Government, spearheaded by intelligence officer Nicola Calipari, to release Giuliana Sgrana, kidnapped by a terrorist cell during the "second Gulf War" while working for the daily newspaper ‘Il Manifesto’.
Filming locations in Rome include glimpses of the real places where events may have taken place, for instance: the exteriors of Forte Braschi, in the Trionfale neighbourhood, which at the time housed the operations centre of SISMI - Military Information and Security Service; of Palazzo Chigi, the seat of the Italian Government, in Piazza Colonna; and the headquarters of the Police in Rome, where a meeting with DIGOS takes place. The scenes set in Baghdad and Dubai were filmed in Morocco.
'Il Nibbio' Plot
Il Nibbio focusses on the twenty-eight days leading up to the tragic events of March 4, 2005 that saw the death of Nicola Calipari; scenes build his crucial role as a veteran intelligence officer in Italy’s External Information and Security Agency (at the time known as SISMI) responsible for operations in Iraq in the early 2000s, demonstrating how the Service operated to safeguard human life, maintain peace, and also show Calipari’s private life, as a man, husband and father.
The story is by Davide Cosco, Sandro Petraglia and Lorenzo Bagnatori; the screenplay was entrusted to Sandro Petraglia, winner of five David di Donatello and a writer who has always been particular attentive to the narration of reality and Italian history.
The film is distributed by Notorius Pictures in theatres from March 6, 2025.