The Garden That Doesn't Exist
6.4
Once upon a time there was a garden, a refuge, a safe haven - 'The Garden of the Finzi Continis'. It came to life in Giorgio Bassani's 1962 semi-autobiographical novel recounting an unfulfilled love story between two young Jews in Ferrara, while fascism was raging in Italy in the late 1930's. In 1972, Vittorio De Sica's film adaptation of the book won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Since then, the fictional space of the garden became so tangible that people from all over the world come to Ferrara to look for it. Fifty years after winning the Oscar, reality and fiction come together once more, as we walk through an imaginary garden and bring to life the book, its author, its main protagonists, history, love, friendships and betrayals.
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Cast
19 people
Dominique Sanda
Self
Known for
The Crimson Rivers
1900
Giorgio Bassani
Self (archive footage)
Also in
La Rabbia
Three Girls from Rome
Vittorio De Sica
Self (archive footage)
Known for
Bread, Love and Dreams
General Della Rovere
Alessandro D'Alatri
Self
Known for
The Garden of the Finzi-Continis
Lino Capolicchio
Self
Known for
The House with Laughing Windows
The Garden of the Finzi-Continis
Helmut Berger
Self (archive footage)
Known for
The Godfather Part III
Ludwig
Fabio Testi
Self (archive footage)
Known for
What Have You Done to Solange?
The Garden of the Finzi-Continis
Manuel De Sica
Self (archive footage)
Also in
Through Children's Eyes - De Sica & Shoeshine
Francesca Alice Antonini
Micòl
Known for
The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox
The Voyagers
Federico Bizzarri
Giorgio
Also in
Romantiche
Too good to die
Giovanni Toscano
Malnate
Also in
In Utero
Antoinette Aaron
Also in
Jay Kelly
Rä di Martino Director · Noa Karavan Cohen Story Eulalie Korenfeld Editor
First release December 1, 2021 · Produced in France, Italy · Languages English, French, Italian
Production
ARTE
Production
Les Films du Poisson
Production
Alto Piano
Production
France · Italy
Produced in
Languages
Original title
Il Giardino che non c'è
Original language
Italian
Spoken on screen
English · French · Italian
Release dates
Italy · December 1, 2021
Premiere · Torino Film Festival
No release date listed for United States.
France
July 4, 2022 · Digital · Arte.tv
July 4, 2022 · TV · Arte
April 25, 2026 · TV · France•3 Corse via Stella
May 1, 2026 · TV · France•3 Corse via Stella
Germany
July 4, 2022 · TV · Arte
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