Fabio Mollo's warmhearted Born for You recounts the first adoption in Italy by a single person. Luca Trapanese (Gomorrah's Pierluigi Gigante, an understated, if sympathetic presence), who is gay, finds out how difficult it can be in this fact-based drama. By refusing to give up, he has helped to smooth the way for other single and LGBTQ parents.
In the prologue, an unidentified woman gives birth, and then promptly disappears after she decides to give her baby up for adoption when she finds out the girl has Down syndrome. A kindly neonatal nurse (Antonia Truppo) names her Alba.
When Luca, founder of a home for children and adults with developmental disabilities, finds out about Alba in 2017, he applies to serve as her foster parent, a a two-year commitment. A former seminary student and avid bicyclist, he has the requisite experience, but the rules, as enforced by the juvenile court judge, Livia (Sacred Heart's Barbora Bobuľová), favor couples.
Luca has a partner, Lorenzo (House of Gucci's Alessandro Piavani), though his sexual orientation also appears to be an issue, since Livia rejects his application, even though he's the only applicant (Italy recognizes same-sex civil unions, but not marriage).
Luca meets with Teresa (Teresa Saponangelo, charismatic star of the Netflix hit Sara - Woman in the Shadows), a concerned lawyer who agrees that the requirements could use greater clarity, and offers to take him on as a client. She's the single mother of twins, and his more extroverted brother, Armando (Raffaele Ausiello), is a new father for the second time. Luca feels left out.
Unfortunately, Lorenzo isn't pleased, since he would rather have their own child, but Luca is undeterred. Teresa recommends he apply for temporary custody. At the very least, it will give an abandoned baby the chance to bond with a parental figure.
The plan works, and yet for all his excitement, Luca knows he'll have to surrender Alba after a month. Having proven himself a good parent, Teresa encourages him to apply for full custody, but the idea of becoming the public face of a movement makes him uncomfortable. (Granted, as of this writing, the real-life Luca, a folk hero in Italy, has 775K followers on Instagram.)
Throughout, Mollo inserts flashbacks to Luca's youthful friendship with Rocco (Giuseppe Pirozzi), a fellow Britpop fan, which starts out as something light and fun until Rocco gets sick, and it becomes clear that he won't be getting better, but this adaptation of Luca's 2018 memoir with Luca Mercadante, Nata per Te, is at its best when it focuses on his adulthood.
What could have played like a made-for-television movie proves more complicated and involving. Despite the satisfying outcome, however, the end credits make it clear that married heterosexual couples still have the edge when it comes to adoption in Italy. If more change is necessary, Luca Trapanese helped to move things forward simply by giving a little girl a loving home.
Why is Born for You a valuable addition to international cinema collections?
Set in Naples and Turin, the film showcases Italian culture, family traditions, and the legal landscape around adoption, making it a strong companion to other contemporary Italian dramas. It enriches world cinema shelves by highlighting real‐life LGBTQ+ experiences outside English‐speaking contexts, broadening cultural representation in film collections.
Why is Born for You an essential LGBTQ+ adoption film for library programming?
Born for You provides a rare, real-life example of a single gay man overcoming legal and societal barriers to adopt a child with Down syndrome. Its uplifting narrative makes it ideal for Pride Month events, Disability Awareness programming, and family‐centered film series that highlight diverse paths to parenthood. The film’s broad appeal to patrons interested in social justice and inspirational true stories helps drive audience engagement for public libraries.