Goodbye Baghdad

TITLE

Goodbye Baghdad

DIRECTOR

Simone Manetti

COUNTRY

Italy

YEAR

2025

DURATION

20′

GENRE

Fiction

Overview

Goodbye Baghdad

March 2005. Giuliana Sgrena is freed one month after her abduction in Baghdad by a jihadist group. Nicola Calipari, a senior officer of SISMI, personally led the negotiations and managed her release. A car journey towards safety, filled with silences, worries, fears, and hopes.

DIRECTOR BIOGRAPHY - Simone Manetti

Born in Livorno in 1978, Simone Manetti is a director and documentary filmmaker. In 2016, he made his directorial debut with the documentary “Goodbye Darling, I’m off to fight”, earning a nomination for Best Documentary in the Cinema del Reale category at the 2016 Nastri d'Argento. In 2019, his second documentary, “Sono innamorato di Pippa Bacca”, was presented at the 37th Torino Film Festival. In 2020, he directed the documentary mini-series “Il Forteto”, produced by Ascent Film for the Sky platform, followed in 2021 by “Marta – Il delitto della Sapienza”, a finalist for the Globo d’Oro for Best Documentary. He continued his work as a documentary filmmaker, directing the series “Nel nome del Figlio” and “Pagato per uccidere” for Sky Crime. In 2024, he directed the international docuseries “Il giovane Berlusconi” (“Young Berlusconi”), distributed by Netflix. In November 2023, he created the documentary “Rigenerazione” in collaboration with ThinkCattleya, which was showcased at the Giffoni Hub and during the 81st Venice International Film Festival. “Goodbye Baghdad” marks his first venture into narrative filmmaking.

Credits

Simone Manetti

Born in Livorno in 1978, Simone Manetti is a director and documentary filmmaker. In 2016, he made his directorial debut with the documentary “Goodbye Darling, I’m off to fight”, earning a nomination for Best Documentary in the Cinema del Reale category at the 2016 Nastri d'Argento. In 2019, his second documentary, “Sono innamorato di Pippa Bacca”, was presented at the 37th Torino Film Festival. In 2020, he directed the documentary mini-series “Il Forteto”, produced by Ascent Film for the Sky platform, followed in 2021 by “Marta – Il delitto della Sapienza”, a finalist for the Globo d’Oro for Best Documentary. He continued his work as a documentary filmmaker, directing the series “Nel nome del Figlio” and “Pagato per uccidere” for Sky Crime. In 2024, he directed the international docuseries “Il giovane Berlusconi” (“Young Berlusconi”), distributed by Netflix. In November 2023, he created the documentary “Rigenerazione” in collaboration with ThinkCattleya, which was showcased at the Giffoni Hub and during the 81st Venice International Film Festival. “Goodbye Baghdad” marks his first venture into narrative filmmaking.

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