Tiziano Terzani wanted to bear first-hand witness to the great changes taking place in the world – the changes that, over the last fifty years of the 20th century, set the hearts and minds of entire generations alight. To do so, he became a journalist and chronicled the revolutions of Asia like no other. His professional journey ran parallel to his personal one: the fulfilment of his dream to tell history as it was being written, first with the Vietnam War, then in Cambodia thanks to his encounter with Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge. Then, finally, in Mao’s China, where he immersed himself fully in society, with the specific aim of living exactly like the Chinese. So much so that he went so far as to enrol his children in state schools, the only foreigner in the country to do so. Terzani continued his work as a correspondent, even when his infatuation with the new ideals was betrayed. He courageously recounts the profound contradictions of China, right up until his arrest and expulsion in 1984. Terzani is now a disillusioned idealist; he feels betrayed. He begins to doubt the revolution itself, coming to believe that the only possible revolution is the one within oneself.

Archives: The Giorgio Cini Foundation. The core of the project lies in the archives of the Cini Foundation, with whom we have established a dialogue and which holds thousands of photographs by Terzani, documenting his travels – materials of extraordinary value. Added to these are family and personal videos, of weddings, travels, private moments, letters and notes for articles and books, many of which have never been published.
Terzani Family Archive: Thanks to our collaboration with the family, we have gained access to audio recordings of conversations between Tiziano and his son Folco, which form the basis of the book La fine è il mio inizio, as well as to his unpublished photographs, work notebooks, diaries and notes.
Rai and Luce: These archives offer interviews and on-the-ground accounts that document Terzani’s journalistic voice. They also hold archive material linked to major historical events.
Progress Archive: Newsreels, documentaries, interviews and archive material from around the world – including Vietnam and geopolitical contexts similar to those experienced by Terzani.
Aamod: Collaboration with Aamod may help identify material consistent with the historical context experienced by Terzani: from the spirit of 1968 and the counterculture era to the global transformations that shaped his experience.
Home Movies: This could help to build an intimate visual tapestry in dialogue with the protagonist’s family archive.

Simone Manetti

Simone Manetti is an Italian director. He made his directorial debut in 2016 with Goodbye Darling, I’m Off to Fight, nominated for the Nastri d’Argento awards. This was followed by I’m in Love With Pippa Bacca (TFF, 2019), Marta Russo: Murder at Rome University (2021), and The Young Berlusconi, produced with ZDF Arte and distributed by NetGlix (2024). In 2025, he directed Achille Lauro – The Terror Cruise, co-produced by WDR Arte. In 2026, Giulio Regeni – All the Evil in the World was released, winning the Nastro d’Argento Award for Legality.

Raffaele Brunetti – B&B Film

Is a documentary film director, producer, and founder of B&B Film. He has gone through the documentary field in all its formats, from cinema to series, to factual docu-realities. He won the Award for Creative Excellence at the US Int. Film Festival, the Globo d’Oro, the Jury Prize at the Guangzhou Festival, the Nastro D’Argento, the David di Donatello and nominations at IDFA, Hot Docs, BANFF and Shanghai. Raffaele has been vice-president of Doc/it and director of the Italian Doc Screenings.