Controversial documentary Girlfriend in a Coma comes to DVD in April

Normally at this point we say, so-and-so has announced the release of X, Y or Z, but we aren't exactly sure who is releasing this so we can't. Instead, we'll go with this...

The Springshot Productions documentary Girlfriend in a Coma, directed by Italian writer and journalist Annalisa Piras and co-written with author and ex- Economist editor Bill Emmott, is coming to DVD this 22nd April, exclusively through Amazon, though how long that exclusivity lasts we aren't sure.

It features animation from London-based Phoebe Boswell and the voice of actor Benedict Cumberbatch as Dante, and has a runtime of 99 minutes. Alas we have no idea of the retail price at present, our guess wound be around £11.99.

Synopsis and trailer follow...

Emmott is the author of best-selling books on Italy’s decline, both in Italian and in English, and decided to make sounding the alarm about Italy’s decline a personal project.

The documentary springs from his profound exploration of the country and its society, blending his independent outsider’s view with the passion and insider outlook of Annalisa Piras, one of the million-strong diaspora of Italians who left the country during the Berlusconi era.

Italy is a country tottering towards dramatic decline, with a kleptocratic and incompetent political class, a financially bankrupt State, raging corruption, organized crime, a sclerotic and anti-feminist Church, a shambling economy, oh, and of course a few decades of horrible government by a “Bunga-Bunga” Prime-Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, all combining to knock one of Europe’s most vibrant societies on the head.

Those interviewed for the film include Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti, philosopher and novelist Umberto Eco, film director Nanni Moretti, women’s rights activist Lorella Zanardo, FIAT Chairman and Agnelli family heir John Elkann, FIAT’s outspoken Canadian-Italian CEO Sergio Marchionne, Slow Food founder Carlo Petrini, the author of “Gomorrah” Roberto Saviano; former European Commissioner Emma Bonino, trade union leader Susanna Camusso and many others.