Bella Ciao

From Mumbai to Beirut, from Chile to Turkey, the traditional Italian folk song Bella Ciao has become the people's anthem of protest - its irresistible chorus ringing out across the world in times of struggle and resistance.

For decades, wherever people have fought against injustice, they have sung ‘Bella Ciao, Ciao Ciao!’

But did it begin as the anthem of the Italian partisans fighting fascism in WWII, or was it a folk song first sung by workers in the rice fields of Italy? And how has it travelled so far between communities? Everyone thinks they know, and everyone has the anecdote to prove it.

Giulia Giapponesi’s hugely entertaining film sets out to find the origins of Bella Ciao, tracing a meandering and fascinating path across the globe, and discovering just what it means to those who sing it as a call for liberty.