01
Facts
-The year 2026 will be Vespa's 80th birthday. An event that will be accompanied by countless celebrations and press headlines allover the world. In other words, Vespa will get A LOT of attention next year!
-Around 18 Million Vespa's are on the road allover the world. And these are just the real Italian ones. Additionally there is a most probably even larger number of non-Italian Piaggio licensed or simply replicated Vespa-alike scooters. As much as this might displeases Piaggio it shows otherwise the enormous interest in Vespa's even in places where it’s hard or impossible to get a real one.
-The planet is full of Vespa clubs. Just the official Vespa World Club has branches in 66 countries in 5 continents. Apart from this there are thousands of unofficial Vespa clubs everywhere in the world bringing together numberless Vespa enthusiasts. And the „Vespa Virus“ is highly infectious. Once you got it it never again will disappear. No wonder there are armies of Vespisti of all age, gender, religious or political believes. A Vespa unifies and brings people together. It's a philosophy, a lifestyle. And even people that do not live the Vespa Vita themselves magically must smile when they see a Vespa parked somewhere or zooming by.
02
Format
1. Brigada V Documentary film as a starting point:
52-minute film that highlights the life of the Tour Guides,
living with the VESPA in Rome.
Introduction to their world of thoughts as a basis.
2. Extension of the format:
Split into 4 episodes of approximately 30 minutes per episode.
Focus each episode on a new protagonist who contributes a unique perspective of his
life in Rome, with the VESPA.
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3. Narrative adjustments:
Transition from the documentary style of the film to an episodic narrative format.
Introduction of cliffhangers or thematic links between episodes.
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4. Structure of the series:
Episode 1: Revised version of the film as a pilot episode.
Episodes 2-8: Deepening of the theme through the individual stories of other protagonists.
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5. Visual and content transition:
Consistent visual aesthetics and storytelling that maintain the documentary style.
Use of ‘recaps’ or flashbacks to make the connection between film and series.
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6. Production planning:
Extending research to identify new protagonists and stories.
Adaptation of the shooting schedule to enable a serial production.
03
The Characters
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The son of a famous photographer and a successful photographer himself. A computer nerd who’s a talented singer and dancer. A specialist in Chinese language culture and philosophy who lives with 7 cats. A bubbly American woman who came to Italy 20 years ago -and stayed. An expert and rewier of Italian cinema. A historian who’s like an encyclopedia on legs. Or on wheels. Because what all these people -and some others more- have in common is that they are all tour guides on Vespas in Rome. And the heroes of this documentary. But also some of their passengers will talk about their experiences. And of course one of Rome`s cult Vespa mechanics who is really a guru in the scene. Besides that there are 2 other strong personalities staring: 1. The Vespa. Much more than just a scooter and a design- and lifestyle icon. It touches people all over the planet deeply emotionally. 2. Rome. A city that absolutely blows away its visitors with its beauty and its millennia-old history. Same time it`s a hip cool and buzzing modern metropolis full of surprising details. The perfect cast to invite the audience to join an unusual ride full of stunning perspectives hooking individual stories and unseen insights.
The Production
This documentary features the tour guides on Vespas in Rome. Director Andi Knaup is one of them. Living in Rome since 5 years he started to do this as a side job right after the covid restrictions ended. For him that is a Vespa enthusiast -first Vespa when 16 years old- and a true Rome lover it was a very natural step. And as he is a director it didn’t take long till the idea was born to create a documentary that shows all the cool and surprising aspects of this unusual profession. A documentary as an homage to his colleagues and as a declaration of love to both Rome and the Vespa. Shown in a very private and typical roman way. Appearance Armin Djalali. When Andi´s old friend film- and music producer Armin visited him in Rome he got a brief insight into the local Vespa scene. It was not hard work to convince him to join the project. The planning of the production started right away. As beautiful as Rome is as tricky is it when it comes to the shooting of driving scenes. Crazy traffic. A layout like a maze. 90% one-way-streets. Restricted traffic zones. Very bad road conditions. Extremely narrow streets. And an endless rollercoaster ride because of all the hills. Luckily both Andi and Armin are very experienced film makers and creative also in finding efficient production solutions. The most important one: When in Rome do as the Romans do - and go by Vespa! And if the Vespa was too small for all the camera equipment they took the vehicle closest to the Vespa. The Piaggio Ape Calessino. A 3-wheeler that’s slim and agile enough to go almost everywhere a Vespa can go. And as it is technically a scooter by Italian law it can can even enter all the restricted zones of Rome where cars are prohibited. Even for D.O.P. Volker Schellbach who really shot a lot of films in his life it definitely was a new experience to use an Ape Calessino as a camera „car“. Together with their local crew they found a lot of unusual ways of making things happen. It was a great ride and a really unusual and funny production of a real road movie. They always kept in focus what was very important to Andi and every single one of the protagonists: showing Rome through the eyes of locals. The secret paths. The hidden gems. The places that most tourists never explore. The cool Rome. And of course the endless beauty of this amazing City from the best perspective you can ever discover it - zipping through it on a Vespa!
Rome
- Rome had around 35 million visitors in both the years 2023 and 2024. With these numbers it’s by far the most popular destination for tourists in Italy and one of the most visited cities allover the world.
- In 2025 Rome expects even up to 50 million Visitors because of the holy year. Means the location where our documentary takes places is a magnet of interest itself. Even somebody who never heard of a Vespa (pretty impossible) will surely get caught by the endless beauty and charm of the eternal city.
