A documentary produced by his son Guido about the life and work of one of the greatest producers in the history of Italian film and Titanus: Goffredo Lombardo. Directed by Giuseppe Tornatore, the documentary features sequences from the most renowned Titanus films with archive materials and exclusive interviews of Italian and international actors, directors, and screenwriters who worked with Goffredo Lombardo and who illustrate the hundred year history of one of the most prestigious Italian production companies. “The story of Goffredo Lombardo is itself a compelling one. We can trace through him the history of a dynasty that began with his father Gustavo, a leading figure when film was invented, and with the transition from father to son the advent of the television series. A family that witnessed the entire course of film history. It was an opportunity to show my gratitude. He was a complex man but very generous with film and the directors he loved. A reserved man, so much so that I had a hard time finding archive materials about him, a few interviews and nothing else. However, I did use a lot of photos, animating a few of them to avoid the contrast of still images with archive footage taken from films. His secretary Cesarina said they risked going belly up producing Il Gattopardo and Sodom and Gomorrah at the same time, because they produced up to twenty films per year. He did not run away with the cash; he sold his possessions, paid twelve banks and even his friends who had turned against him. Everything to avoid bankruptcy. And he did it. He was an upright man, a gentleman from another time, elegant, headstrong, diplomatic. I captured dozens of people who worked with Lombardo, while images from Titanus films play in the background. There is every kind of genre, from melodramas (like Tormento and Chains) to Totò’s comedies, the series Bread, love and…, Poor but Beautiful, and the works of great directors like Petri, Olmi and many more. Goffredo produced my first film The Professor and was fundamental to Italian film. He also liked the idea of Cinema Paradiso, but after his initial yes the story’s complexity frightened him, and he said to me that the oral story convinced him but the written one did not. In the end I made the Oscar-winning film with Franco Cristaldi, with his consent. We parted ways as good friends.”

The documentary includes numerous interviews with figures from film and culture such as Alain Delon, Mario Monicelli, Ettore Scola, Francesco Rosi, Giuseppe Tornatore, Sophia Loren, Burt Lancaster, Ermanno Olmi, Enrico Medioli, Gian Luigi Rondi, Enrico Lucherini, Ennio Morricone, Carlo Verdone, Suso Cecchi d’Amico, Giuseppe Rotunno, Lina Wertmuller, Folco Quilici, Bud Spencer, Dario Argento, Armando Trovaioli, Giuliano Gemma, Caterina d’Amico, Pasquale Squitieri, Virna Lisi, Giacomo Furia, Patrizia Carrano, Franco Giraldi, Paolo Pietrangeli, Elena Sofia Ricci, Callisto Cosulich and Marco Vicario.