The rise of streaming as the standard for video has led to the emergence of many platforms offering films, documentaries and TV series over the last decade. Netflix, Prime Video and Disney+ dominate the scene, but our research focused on feature films made by Italian directors and production companies. Below are ten titles, some more recent than others, dedicated to technology, the cyber world, entrepreneurship, business and space.

Another End

Omnipresent in our lives, can technology help us overcome grief? This is the question addressed by the film directed by Piero Messina and starring Gael García Bernal and Bérénice Bejo. A wife who dies in a car accident marks the rest of her husband’s life, who was driving the car before the fatal crash.

This is where the power of technology comes into play, offering a second chance to say goodbye to his wife. Memories and the consciousness of the deceased reappear, but virtual reality hides pitfalls and gives rise to unexpected passions. Before the ending turns the tables. The film is available on Prime Video and Sky.

Nirvana

The meaning of an artificially mediated and generated existence. In the wake of Philip K. Dick’s novels and even more so in the setting of Blade Runner, the film directed by Gabriele Salvatores and starring Christopher Lambert anticipated themes that have since become very topical.

The protagonist is a video game creator who has three days to deliver his latest work, Nirvana. His plans are disrupted by a virus that makes the protagonist of the game conscious, who asks his creator to delete him. A constant build-up of emotion, with a surprise ending that takes the viewer by surprise.

It is also recommended that you discover how the 2000s were imagined in the past. Nirvana can be viewed here in Italian with English or French subtitles.

Nudes

An experimental Italian production inspired by the Norwegian teen drama series of the same name, the first season tells the story of three teenagers grappling with revenge porn.

This is an often underestimated issue that actually affects a large number of women (and sometimes men too). In ten 20-minute episodes, viewers enter the lives of Vittorio, Ada and Sofia, suffering with them the consequences of the online dissemination of private images.

The second season, in nine episodes, follows the journey of three older couples grappling with serious and unexpected problems. The content is useful for raising awareness among young people about the pitfalls of social media and the dangers of a reality in which roles are blurred and reversed multiple times. Nudes can be viewed on RaiPlay.

Breached

One of the rare occasions when Italian producers and directors choose to tackle the issue of cybersecurity. Created by actor and producer Fabio De Nardi, who plays the young ethical hacker, protagonist of the TV series, Breached investigates the dynamics surrounding digital privacy, offering the general public content that will be useful for learning and understanding how important it is to take care of one’s digital data.

Filming finished a few weeks ago, there is still no definite date for the TV series premiere, which will hit the small screen in the coming months.

Never Too Late

Adventure, ecology and dystopia in this series are set in 2046, a future where carbon dioxide levels are extremely high and the planet is terribly overheated and suffering from a lack of oxygen.

These are the boundaries within which Never Too Late unfolds, a science fiction series featuring a ‘green lockdown’ that prohibits citizens from accessing forests and green spaces in order to avoid catastrophe and attempt to heal nature.

The story follows the exploits of a group of teenagers, the children of rebel environmentalists who have suddenly disappeared, who have never known plants or trees and try to sneak into the Nur forest, one of the few still available, although inaccessible and controlled by drones and armed guards. The ten episodes of the series can be watched on RaiPlay.

Security

In recent years, there have been huge advances in cybersecurity, as well as the development of new threats, but even though it was released in 2021, Peter Chelsom’s film, inspired by Stephen Amidon’s novel of the same name, offers an interesting and thought-provoking perspective on cybersecurity.

At the centre of the story is a small luxury village that becomes ‘hostage’ to the electronic eye, present everywhere with video cameras and sophisticated security systems. The film explores how the desire to be safe can lead to isolation and unwanted control, ultimately limiting individual freedoms.

Space: 1999

A dated title, considering that the science fiction series was written in 1973, the British ITC project was co-produced by Rai (the main Italian broadcaster) and was hugely successful, so much so that it is also remembered as a series that educated the public about the space race and the moon landing.

The Italian edition recounts the adventures of the members of a lunar colony adrift in space and has been repeated several times over the years. The HD-restored version is available in Italian and English on RaiPlay and is a great opportunity to understand what the conquest of space was like and how it was viewed and portrayed during the years of the rivalry between Russia and the United States.

B Heroes

A docu-series produced by Sky Italia in 2019 to investigate the dynamics of the world of innovation and start-ups. In 15 episodes, it tells the stories, dreams and aspirations of some of Italy’s most promising start-up entrepreneurs.

Created by Fabio Cannavale, founder and CEO of Last Minute, B Heroes provides an insight into the path that young founders must follow and allows viewers to discover how businesses grow and the techniques that entrepreneurs learn during the mentorship process.

A jury of managers and experts judges their progress and awards eight start-ups with an acceleration programme to help them make the big leap. The episodes of the three seasons, plus the film about four start-ups, are available on YouTube.

Made in Italy

Times change, of course, but looking at pioneers who are able to create something from scratch is always a great inspiration for those who want to do big things. One example is Made in Italy, which tells the story of the birth of prêt-à-porter Italian fashion, following in the footsteps of a journalist in search of news and life.

She is Irene, who moved from southern Italy to Milan to work on the editorial staff of a fashion magazine. She met Giorgio Armani, Valentino Garavani, Gianni Versace, Ottavio Missoni, and Krizia. They are the ones who write history, following their instinct for fashion and business. The TV series can be seen on both Prime Video and Mediaset Infinity.

Diavoli

An Italian, British and French production investigating the secrets of high finance. A trading manager, a banking giant, a world in crisis and speculation that enriches those who gamble on money.

Scandals descend into hell, and sensational rises alternate in the two seasons of the TV series, which outlines the implications of financiers in dirty business under the watchful eye of the Devils, who decide the fate of the world.

Based on the novel by Guido Maria Brera, the 18 episodes of the TV series Devils can be watched on Sky Italia.