The full-length coffee documentary is a marvelous sight to behold. But there’s nothing quite like experience a film in its truest form, inside of a proper theater, with the sound and picture and audience energy all around you. And that’s exactly what happened in November 2025, when Accademia del Caffè Espresso and La Marzocco premiered the film The Rise of Espresso at an invite-only event at New York City’s Crosby Street Hotel.
The Rise of Espresso documents Italian emigrants who, throughout the years, have promoted espresso coffee culture all over the world. The film, from director Enrico Ventrice, “tells the story of espresso from an Italian tradition to a global cultural phenomenon” with a focus on global emigrants from Italy. These folks—many now in their 70s and 80s—helped lay the building blocks for international coffee culture today, and this film is a vital primary source material capturing their stories and lessons for future generations.
