Fiume o morte! 2026

In present-day Rijeka, director Igor Bezinović asks local residents what they know about Gabriele d’Annunzio, the Italian poet and nationalist who occupied the city, then known as Fiume, after the First World War. Their responses weave a layered map of memory, revealing how the figure’s presence has lingered in streets, plaques, and conversations, and how the past continues to surface in the city’s everyday life. The film then builds its narrative through a careful blend of archival photographs and footage, a measured documentary voiceover, and staged reenactments performed largely by Rijeka residents. In these sections, a number of participants step into the roles of D’Annunzio himself, as well as soldiers and ordinary people connected to the events, creating a living collage that sits between history and collective memory. The production also offers a behind-the-scenes look at the process: auditions, rehearsals, preparations, and ongoing discussions about which material to use and how to present it to the audience.

The story follows the arrival of D’Annunzio in Fiume in September 1919 and his bold campaign to annex the contested city to Italy. By grounding the drama in recognizable, contemporary locations and weaving in archival material, the film recreates speeches, military gatherings, and ceremonial moments from the occupation, giving viewers a tangible sense of the atmosphere and stakes of the period. It also delves into the establishment of the Italian Regency of Carnaro, and the friction between D’Annunzio and the Italian government that shaped the city’s fate during those tumultuous months.

The occupation culminates in December 1920 with a confrontation between D’Annunzio’s forces and the Italian military. The documentary then returns to present-day Rijeka, closing the loop by focusing again on the residents who contributed to the reenactments and showing how their personal memories intersect with the city’s physical landscape. Through this intimate, participatory approach, the film invites viewers to consider how history is reconstructed, remembered, and re-told through community art that binds place to memory.