Pioneering Italian physicist Fabiola Gianotti, who led one of two experiments that led to the discovery of the Higgs boson, which has been nicknamed the “God particle,” is set to be the subject of a biopic titled “The Mysterious Particle.”
The high-end biopic is to be directed by Stefano Mordini (“The Invisible Witness”).
Gianotti is currently the first female director general of CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, which has the world’s most powerful particle accelerator. The Higgs boson helped explain how matter formed after the Big Bang.
“The Mysterious Particle,” which is being developed for the international market, is being produced by Picomedia (an Asacha Media Group company, part of Fremantle) and Cinemaundici. Picomedia is headed by Roberto Sessa, the veteran producer behind Italy’s hit young adult drama “The Sea Outside.”
“The Mysterious Particle” will recount the personal and professional story of Gianotti, who dreamed of becoming a prima ballerina as a child, then considered becoming a classical pianist, before moving on to earn a Ph.D. in physics at the University of Milan and starting her career at CERN in 1994. She reportedly lives in an apartment with a view of Lake Geneva and Mont Blanc from her balcony window. There Gianotti plays her favorite composers, including Bach, Schubert, and Brahms, on her piano in her downtime.
The film will be mostly set at the CERN in Geneva and the surrounding area where the $10 billion ATLAS atom smasher is located in a cavern located in a tunnel below a small Swiss village.
Mordini’s work comprises “Smalltown Italy” that went to Berlin, mob noir “Pericle il nero” (“Pericles the Black Man”) that went to Cannes, and 2024 Netflix Italian original series “Adorazione.”
“The Mysterious Particle” writing team comprises Paolo Giordano (“We Are Who We Are”) who has a background in physiscs and whose novel “The Solitude of Prime Numbers” won Italy’s top literary nod, the Premio Strega, Luca Infascelli “The Art of Joy” and Mordini.
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