Volare, Margherita Buy’s feature directorial debut, will have its television premiere on Saturday, August 30th on Rai 3. It’s a welcome chance to (re)discover a sharp, warm ensemble comedy, one that charmed audiences from its premiere at the Rome Film Festival 2023 (Grand Public section) through its theatrical run in February 2024.

The film is produced by Tenderstories alongside Kavac Film, Maremosso, IBC Movie, and Rai Cinema.

At the centre of the story is AnnaBì (Margherita Buy), a talented actress whose irrational terror of flying has cost her dearly: most recently, the role of a lifetime with a celebrated Korean director. What her career couldn’t unlock, however, motherhood might: when her daughter is accepted into a prestigious American university on the Pacific coast, AnnaBì finally signs up for a flying course run by the national airline, designed specifically for people like her.

The course becomes the film’s comic and human engine. Gathered around AnnaBì is an unlikely group: a dentist hoping to reunite with his great love in Mexico, a young woman who wants to reach her dogs in Australia, a bitter and self-important critic, a rough and wealthy farmer with a sudden urge to see the world. They have almost nothing in common, except the fear of flying, each carrying it for their own reasons.