Alba Rohrwacher faces a breakup and then illness in Three Farewells, the new film from Isabel Coixet. Adapted from the latest book by Italian author Michela Murgia, this drama with Elio Germano and Galatea Bellugi arrives in French cinemas on September 2, 2026.
After a seemingly petty quarrel, Marta and Antonio split up. He, an ambitious young chef on the rise, tries to dodge heartbreak by throwing himself into his restaurant. Marta retreats into silence and begins to lose her appetite. That persistent symptom soon proves linked to something more than a broken heart.
The discovery of her illness reshapes how Marta views the time she has left. Food takes on a new, vivid flavor, music moves her differently, and desire rekindles her will to live fearlessly. The film follows this shift in perspective without reducing the character to her diagnosis.
Alba Rohrwacher stars as Marta, opposite Elio Germano who plays Antonio. The cast also includes Galatea Bellugi, Francesco Carril, Silvia D'Amico, and Sarita Choudhury. For Alba Rohrwacher, the film continues a career built around intimate, fragile characters, following notably Stéphane Brizé's Hors-saison.
Three Farewells adapts Tre ciotole: Rituali per un anno di crisi, a collection of stories published in 2023 by Michela Murgia. Driven by the author's own experience with illness, the book explores the everyday gestures, relationships and rituals that take on new meaning when time is running out. Michela Murgia died a few months after its publication, at the age of 51.
Isabel Coixet wrote the adaptation with Enrico Audenino. The Spanish filmmaker revisits several themes that recur in her work, especially in My Life Without Me: confronting mortality, choices left unresolved, and the possibility of reclaiming one’s life. That said, this isn’t a remake of that film, but a story drawn directly from Michela Murgia’s universe.
Shot in Italian and on the streets of Rome, the film is a co‑production between Italy and Spain. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2025, before continuing its run at several international festivals. Its French distribution is handled by Nour Films.
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