Venice, Nanni Moretti: “I was tired of making the same film. I wanted a love story”

Nanni Moretti says he no longer wants to make “the same film,” even if each version becomes better. For Succederà questa notte, he chose a love story, developed with Valia Santella and Federica Pontremoli.

The film is the first of five Italian entries in competition at the Venice Film Festival. Loosely adapted from stories in Eshkol Nevo’s collection Legami, it marks Moretti’s return to the Lido after 37 years. His previous appearance in the festival selection came with Palombella Rossa in 1989.

The romantic comedy stars Louis Garrel as Matteo, a bookseller, and Jasmine Trinca as Greta, an actress. Their relationship unfolds over many years, with the pair repeatedly meeting at moments when they cannot be together.

Matteo first sees Greta in Rome wearing a wedding dress as she heads to her marriage. Despite the circumstances, she stops to play a game with him, leaving him captivated. Years later, he encounters her in San Sebastián while attending a Bruce Springsteen concert. Greta is searching for her missing daughter.

They meet again in a Roman café. Greta is still with her husband and absorbed in motherhood, while Matteo has also married. The story follows an enduring love that keeps resurfacing, with its two protagonists crossing paths at the wrong time.

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Many years ago in interviews, I came up with a somewhat silly phrase: I always want to make the same film, but always better. At a certain point I told myself: no, I no longer want to make the same film. This time, also thanks to the work of Valia Santella and Federica Pontremoli, we imagined a love story.