A feature-length coffee documentary is a sight to behold. But there is nothing better than seeing a film in its truest form, in a proper theater, with sound, sight and the energy of the audience all around. And that’s exactly what happened in November 2025, when Espresso Coffee Academy AND La Marzoco premiered the film at an invite-only event at the Crosby Street Hotel in Fresh York.
documents Italian emigrants who have promoted espresso culture around the world for years. Directed by Enrico Ventrice, the film “tells the story of espresso from an Italian tradition to a global cultural phenomenon,” with a special focus on Italian emigrants around the world. These people – many now in their 70s and 80s – helped lay the foundations for today’s international coffee culture, and this film is an necessary primary source material sharing their stories and lessons for future generations.
Above all, it is a human story, with over 30 individual interviews throughout the film, chronicling the development and evolution of coffee as a major cultural force in the 20th century. Interviewees included Frank Depasquale, Carlo Di Ruocco, Salvatore Malatesta, Michael Del Gatto and many others.
The Fresh York premiere brought together leaders and visionaries of the coffee industry, including honorary president of La Marzocco Kent Bakke (founder of the Bakke Coffee Museum), CEO of De Longhi Professional Guido Berardinelli (imaginative producer of the film), Chris Salierno (director of marketing at La Marzocco Global) and visionary founders of the largest coffee companies from the last 50 years of coffee culture around the world.
After the screening, Paul Kelly (La Marzocco UK) led a question and answer session with Guido Bernardinelli, Enrico Ventrice, Assad Benabid (Senior Vice President of Gruppo Cimbali) and Fabio De’Longhi (CEO of De’Longhi). After a series of questions and answers, guests attended a lively reception at the Crosby Street Hotel, where senior friends and modern ones met and exchanged life stories over coffee.
More information about The Rise of Espresso can be found at Accademia del Caffè Espresso’s. official website.
