Carla Lonzi, A Feminist Story (2026): Cast, Story and Release

Prepared by Movies Dock Editorial

Carla Lonzi, A Feminist Story examines the public ideas and private contradictions of Italian feminist Carla Lonzi. Directed by Francesca Archibugi, the documentary draws on unreleased archive material to consider Lonzi’s relationships, views on motherhood, collective women’s work and continuing legacy.

Carla Lonzi, A Feminist Story looks at the life and thought of Carla Lonzi, an influential and uncompromising public figure whose private experiences were more complex and contradictory.

Directed and written by Francesca Archibugi, the documentary combines personal perspective with previously unreleased archive material. It presents Lonzi’s ideas alongside the emotional, relational and political tensions that shaped her story.

Carla Lonzi, A Feminist Story movie details

Story without spoilers

The documentary explores Carla Lonzi beyond her public image, focusing on the contrast between her uncompromising feminist positions and the vulnerabilities of her private life. It addresses her tenderness, emotional fragility and dependence on her partner, as well as her complicated feelings about motherhood.

The film also considers Lonzi’s difficult relationships with other women within the practice of collective consciousness-raising, described in the supplied synopsis as a form of “consciousness-raising” and collective harikiri. Through archival material, Archibugi connects Lonzi’s personal history, ideas and legacy with struggles that women continue to face around the world.

What to expect

As a documentary, the film is built around archival material and an examination of its subject’s public and private dimensions. Its focus is less on a simple biographical overview than on the tensions between feminist theory, intimate dependence, motherhood, collective experience and personal vulnerability.

The documentary also carries a distinct personal perspective: Francesca Archibugi was very close to Lonzi. That connection informs the film’s approach while its subject remains Carla Lonzi’s life, ideas and continuing relevance.

Cast and creative team

Francesca Archibugi directs and writes Carla Lonzi, A Feminist Story. The listed cast includes Maria Elena Boccia, Battista Lena, Vittorio Lonzi, Nanni Moretti and Maria Edgarda Marcucci. No character roles are specified in the supplied information.

• Maria Elena Boccia
• Battista Lena
• Vittorio Lonzi
• Nanni Moretti
• Maria Edgarda Marcucci

Release and production context

Carla Lonzi, A Feminist Story is an Italian documentary in Italian with a runtime of 1 hour and 30 minutes. It is listed as released on October 26, 2026. The production companies are Fandango, Istituto Luce Cinecittà and RAI Cinema.

Production companies: Fandango, Istituto Luce Cinecittà, RAI Cinema

Movies Dock view

Carla Lonzi, A Feminist Story is framed as both a portrait of a feminist thinker and an examination of the distance between public conviction and private experience. Its use of unreleased archival material and Archibugi’s close connection to Lonzi give the documentary a specifically personal context while keeping Lonzi’s ideas and legacy at its center.

Film data:
TMDB · IMDb