This film was inspired by a real adventure taken by co-writer Nancy Cartwright, the voice of Bart Simpson.
Die wunderbare Reise der Lucy - Auf der Suche nach Fellini (2017) is based off a true adventure that Executive Producer and Writer, Nancy Cartwright, took in 1985 when she set off to Italy alone searching for famed film director, Federico Fellini to get the stage rights to his film Das Lied der Straße (1954) .
The small sculpture that LUCY picks up in the bookstore is an authentic piece called "Ariadne" that Nancy Cartwright bought on her original trip to Italy in 1985. In reality, Nancy escaped an assault by kneeing her perpetrator where it counts and then running through the streets of Venice in order to get away. Nancy ducked into a boutique where she found and bought this exact sculpture created by world-renown sculptor/alchemist, Kevin Coates. The proprietor of that boutique was named Beppe and he cut a deal with Nancy so she could afford this piece of fine art. Decades later, with the completion of the filming, Nancy found the business card that Beppe had given her. On the back of the card was Kevin Coates address. Nancy subsequently found that Beppe had already passed away, but she got in touch with Kevin and his lovely wife, Nel and they have since developed a fondness and mutual respect for each other.
At one point a Bart Simpson figure is seen next to the TV. Which is a nod to Nancy Cartwright's role as Bart on the Simpsons.
SYLVIA (played by Beth Riesgraf) is a reference to Sylvia from Federico Fellini's "La Dolce Vita" and Anita from Fellini's Boccaccio 70 (1962), both played by actress Anita Ekberg. The black dress Beth wears was an authentic costume from Das süße Leben (1960) and was procured by costume designer Catherine Buyse Dian in Italy.