Three months have passed, and Mimmo and Riccardo are still trying to find the right lyrics for the song. Their frustration comes to the surface and the song risks going up in smoke.

In the middle of the night, Mimmo finally comes up with the refrain to the song that would become famous the world over. He can't curb his enthusiasm and calls Franco and Gramitto, even though it's three in the morning.

When Franca comes home after her day on set, she finds Mimmo asleep on the couch surrounded by sheets of music paper. She has some news for him. He goes to Milan to meet with Gramitto who has always been skeptical about the new song ever taking off.

It's New Year's Eve and Mimmo and Franca celebrate with friends. As promised, Mimmo gets some concert clothes from the Sanremo festival. And then, the big day arrives and Domenico finds himself in the midst of already famous artists.

Franco Migliaccio is filled with pessimism and Johnny Dorelli is filled with fear, but Mimmo is feeling very sure of himself at the Sanremo Festival.

Mimmo and Franca have a relaxing moment by the sea. Franca has some important news for him.

The big night arrives and we, along with so many watching him on black and white TV, finally hear the song in Modugno's performance at Sanremo. It was a moment of great pride and optimism for Italy.

The winner of Sanremo is announced, and the news travels fast. The winning song makes Italians feel optimistic after the terrible war and postwar periods.

Domenico Modugno goes to New York City, where he sees his song has taken over. It made history all over the world.

Giuliano Montaldo tells about how he got his start, from being a ham actor in Genoa to becoming an assistant to film director Carlo Lizzani, to making his first movie.

Giuliano tells about meeting Vera for the first time, and then he and Vera take turns telling about how their relationship developed.

Giuliano and Vera talk about some of the colorful episodes in their time together on set. Vera tells about how Giuliano accepted her daughter, Elisabetta, from a previous relationship.

Giuliano and Vera were of one mind regarding respect for workers and fighting against intolerance. One episode that particularly struck Giuliano was the news from the United States involving Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, two Italian immigrants, and anarchists, who were unjustly arrested and condemned to the electric chair in 1927. Montaldo would go on to make a film about that story.

Giuliano and Vera talk a little bit about the music for the Sacco and Vanzetti film, as well as a serendipitous moment in NY connected with that. When the film came out it had success, especially with young people. Their outrage about the unfair trial led to the governor of Massachusetts recognizing the unfairness of their trial.

What works in the relationship between Vera and Giuliano is partly the fact that they complement each other, like yin and yang. They talk about a biographical movie they made about Giordano Bruno, a 16th-century Italian philosopher and cosmological theorist, with Gian Maria Volonté.