Elsa Morante’s La Storia has celebrated a stellar linear premiere in Italy, winning the primetime on Rai1 by a landslide. The gripping drama tied 4.5 million viewers to the screen, leading to a market share of 24%. Last October, the series enchanted audiences during the series’ World Premiere at the Rome International Film Festival.

Starring Jasmine Trinca, who “pays her tribute to Elsa Morante with her perhaps most beautiful and certainly most passionate performance” (Rolling Stone Italia), as well as Asia Argento (xXx – Triple X), Elio Germano (Leopardi), and Valerio Mastandrea (Perfect Strangers), Elsa Morante’s La Storia centers on Ida, a single mother of two sons, who hides her Jewish heritage and fights against poverty and persecution during the end of WWII and post-war Rome.

Beta has previously sold the eight-hour drama to several territories, including to public broadcasters in Scandinavia as well as Slovakia’s RTV and RTL Hungary.

Director Francesca Archibugi (Romanzo famigliare) co-wrote the screenplay with Francesco Piccolo (My Brilliant Friend), Giulia Calenda, and Ilaria Macchia (both Petra – Death Rites). Primetime Emmy®-nominated Luca Bigazzi (The Great Beauty, Il Divo) served as DOP, set design was done by Ludovica Ferrario (The Young Pope), Catheruine Buyse (The New Pope, Spiderman - Far from Home) and Valentina Monticelli were responsible for costume design.

Elsa Morante’s La Storia is produced by Picomedia (Roberto Sessa), Thalie Images (Stéphane Moatti), in collaboration with Rai Fiction (Maria Pia Ammirati, Francesco Nardella, Francesca Tura, Daria Hensemberger), and in co-production with Beta (Koby Gal-Raday, Ferdinand Dohna). Beta Film handles world sales.