Diksha Sundriyal
Netflix’s ‘18 Regali’ follows the story of a girl named Anna, who travels back in time to meet her mother, Elisa, who had died shortly after giving birth to her. The film tackles themes of grief and the love between a mother and her daughter, which transcends time. While there is a sci-fi element to the story, the emotions are genuine. The time travel part is a little hard to believe, but Elisa’s thoughtful action of leaving behind special gifts for her daughter is heart-warming. Has someone does this in real life? What is the inspiration behind ’18 Regali’?
Is 18 Presents Based on a True Story?
Yes, ’18 Presents’ is partly based on a true story; the time travel part, however, is a figment of the filmmaker;s imagination. The names of the characters are based on the real people that they portray. In the film, there is a scene where Elisa asks Anna what her surname is. Anna improvises and picks up a word from Elisa’s wall. She says that her surname is Girotto. In real life, Elisa’s surname was Girotto.
Born in Maserada di Piave, Elisa Girotto married Alessio Vicenzotto, whom she had met through friends. Before that, she had been pregnant with her daughter Anna and, during the wedding, was aware of the terminal nature of her disease, as is portrayed in the film. She was 40 years old when she discovered that she had little time left on Earth. Knowing that she won’t be able to spend more time with her daughter, she decided to leave some gifts for her to keep herself connected to her. She left gifts like toys and books, along with journals with the thoughts and advice she wanted to share with her daughter- everything sorted according to the age Anna would be while receiving those gifts. For Anna’s eighteenth birthday, she has left her a globe with pins all over the places she wished to have traveled with her.
Elisa died in September 2017, a month after the birth of Anna. However, the news of her gestures of love and her spirit to live beyond her disease and death soon spread across the world.
Where is Elisa’s Husband now?
Alessio currently lives in Spresiano with his daughter, Anna Elisa. He is active on social media platforms and indulges a lot in traveling and cooking. He also served as one of the writers on ’18 Regali’.
While the film tells us about the gifts that Elisa left for her daughter, it doesn’t show us how she left things for her husband to cope with. We might not have thought about it while watching the film, but Elisa did. Alessio helped her get gifts for Anna, but he didn’t know about the letters she had left for him, hidden all over their house.
“Elisa saw life for what it was, she faced it with a smile on her lips. I hope that my wife’s story helps people reflect on the importance of love for life, which must always be lived fully, even in times of difficulty,” he said.
