As Deadline reports, the Oscar-winning directorial team behind Free Solo is working on a new project that will tell the story of Gino Bartali's purported heroics in helping Jews escape Italy during World War II. Miles Teller is set to star as the Italian cycling legend, who won two Tours de France, three Giri d'Italia, and seven Monuments during a pro career that spanned two decades and was split by the second World War.
The biopic is set to be titled simply "Bartali," with a script written by producer Karen Tenkhoff. Elisabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, the husband and wife team who will direct, have a strong background in sports and adventure films; in addition to Free Solo, the pair also directed 2023's Nyad, a biopic about the open water swimmer Diana Nyad.
A devout Catholic, Bartali has been hailed as a hero who worked with the Italian Resistance and helped save hundreds of Jews during the Holocaust by smuggling documents to secure their escape from Italy, at least according to Italian priest Rufino Niccacci, who spoke to Alexander Ramati for his 1978 book The Assisi Underground, which is based on Niccacci's account. Bartali's efforts, which would have put his own life at risk, were apparently undertaken under the cover of his training rides through the countryside.
Bartali, who never spoke publicly of any involvement with the Resistance, died in 2000. He was deemed Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem, Israel's holocaust memorial, in 2013. In recent years, however, some journalists and researchers have called the story of Bartali's heroism into question.
In any case, Hollywood will adapt the story of that heroism, real or otherwise, into an upcoming biopic headlined by Teller, whose screen credits include Whiplash, Top Gun: Maverick, and a new film that will be released on Apple TV+ on Friday, The Gorge.
"I’m so excited to join this incredible project and bring Gino Bartali’s inspiring story to life. He wasn’t just a cycling legend—he was a true hero who risked his own safety to help those who needed it most," Teller said, according to Deadline. "Can’t wait for audiences to see the courage and heart behind his journey.”
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