40 secondi

40 secondi (English: 40 seconds) is an upcoming Italian drama film co-written and directed by Vincenzo Alfieri [it], loosely based on the book 40 secondi. Willy Monteiro Duarte. La luce del coraggio and il buio della violenza by Federica Angeli. It had its world premiere in the Progressive Cinema Competition of the 20th Rome Film Festival on 17 October 2025, and will receive a theatrical release in Italy on 19 November 2025.

40 secondi
Italian theatrical release poster
Directed by	Vincenzo Alfieri [it]
Written by	Vincenzo Alfieri Giuseppe Stasi
Based on	40 secondi. Willy Monteiro Duarte. La luce del coraggio and il buio della violenza by Federica Angeli
Produced by	Roberto Proia
Starring	Francesco Gheghi Enrico Borello Francesco Di Leva Beatrice Puccilli Justin De Vivo
Cinematography	Andrea Reitano
Edited by	Vincenzo Alfieri
Music by	Alessandro Bencini
Production company	Eagle Pictures
Distributed by	Eagle Pictures
Release dates	17 October 2025 (2025-10-17) (Rome) 19 November 2025 (2025-11-19) (Italy)
Running time	121 minutes
Country	Italy
Language	Italian

Premise

The film follows the true story of Willy Monteiro Duarte [it], a 21-year-old of Cape Verdean descent who was brutally beaten and killed in Colleferro while defending a friend.

Cast

• Francesco Gheghi as Maurizio
• Enrico Borello as Cosimo
• Francesco Di Leva
• Beatrice Puccilli as Michelle
• Giordano Giansanti as Federico
• Luca Petrini as Lorenzo
• Justin De Vivo as Willy Monteiro Duarte [it]
• Sergio Rubini
• Maurizio Lombardi
• Daniele Cartocci as Cristian
• Chiara Celotto as Rossella

Production

Principal photography began on 16 June 2025. Filming took place in and around Rome over seven weeks.^[1][2]

Release

A trailer was released on 22 September 2025.^[3] The film had its world premiere in the Progressive Cinema Competition of the 20th Rome Film Festival on 17 October 2025.^[4] It will receive a theatrical release in Italy on 19 November 2025.^[5]