Ride Back To Freedom

What does freedom mean when the whole world is trapped by an unprecedented pandemic?

This is the question Austrian director Hermann Weiskopf asks himself in Italy, the country he longs
for.

On June 15, 2020, the historic date when the border between Austria and Italy reopened after the first
coronavirus lockdown, the project “Ride back to Freedom” got underway.

For weeks, Hermann rides nearly 5,000 kilometers through Italy on his Vespa, from the Alps in the
north all the way to the picturesque island of Lampedusa in the far south. Along the way, he meets
people who share their moving stories and experiences of the pandemic.

These encounters and interviews
surprise and deeply move him. In particular, the tragic fates he witnesses against the breathtaking
backdrop of the “Bel Paese” stay with him forever.

But the physical and mental demands, the loneliness, and the doubts that keep returning take their
toll on Weiskopf. In the end, however, he reaches his final destination: the island of Lampedusa.
There, at the edge of Europe, he finds answers to his urgent questions: What does freedom mean in this
turbulent time?

Through the lens of a road trip, the film paints a moving snapshot of the coronavirus pandemic in
Italy and explores what freedom truly means to people.

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