30 September 2016
To retell the story of Juventus, from its triumphs to its champions, from its legends to its eternal bonds with the Agnelli family. To gather the heroes of both Juve’s present and its future all while piecing together the magical history of one of sport’s most successful clubs. In short, the dream of any film and Bianconeri lover.
Today, a life-long ambition of two such passionate supporters, New York-based directors Mauro and Marco La Villa, was realised as “Bianconeri: Juventus Story” was previewed for the first time at Juventus Stadium ahead of its general release in Italian cinemas for three days only from 10-12 October.
The documentary, bringing the Old Lady of Italian football to the big screen for the very first time, boasts an all-star line-up not only its interviewees, featuring the likes of Andrea Agnelli, Gianluigi Buffon and Alessandro Del Piero, but also behind the scenes with narrator Giancarlo Giannini, Oscar-winner Ennio Morricone and executive producers Lapo Elkann and David Franzoni among its contributors.
The result is not only a presentation of the official history of the club and the relationship between the team and the Agnelli family, but also a journey through the key moments that gave rise to Juventus’ conquest of its 30th league title five years ago.
And so, with the club’s spiritual home as its breathtaking backdrop, the La Villa brothers revealed their work this evening before a star-studded VIP audience on the Juventus Stadium pitch in an unveiling befitting of any Oscar-winning masterpiece.
Suitably, the black and white carpet was rolled out as the night’s high profile guests began to file into the Stadium foyer at 18.30 CEST: the list a who’s who of Juventus history; among them Exor and FCA president John Elkann, his sister Ginevra and brother Lapo, club president Andrea Agnelli, captain Buffon and team-mates Andrea Barzagli, Leonardo Bonucci, Giorgio Chiellini and Claudio Marchisio.
Following a champagne reception in the Club Gianni and Umberto Agnelli suite, it was time to sit down and enjoy the film, already shown to journalists earlier in the afternoon after an introduction from its directors:
“Working directly with the club and the Agnelli family has been an arduous but an ultimately unforgettable experience. We wanted to bring our ambitions to fruition in the best possible fashion, that of retelling this epic story on the big screen for Juventus supporters like ourselves everywhere.”
Executive producer Lapo Elkann added: “Two things struck me immediately when Marco and Mauro came to me with the idea of producing an independent film about Juventus: the first was their passion for this club, the second was their determination to bring this tale to the big screen.
“Having been involved from the very beginning of this project and having watched it grow over the past few years, it is with great pride that today I stand here as the film’s executive producer on the day of its unveiling. I have no doubt that this story will bring the same excitement to cinemas as this team has done out on the field."
