Futura Divas

Italy, 2024, 120 min.

Genre: drama

Director: Giulia Louise Steigerwalt

Screenplay: Giulia Louise Steigerwalt

Starring: Pietro Castellitto, Denise Capezza, Barbara Ronchi, Lidia Cordic, Tessa Litvan, and others.

Language: Italian

Subtitles: Bulgarian

Based on the memoir Don't Tell Mom I'm a Secretary by Debora Attanasio.

Futura Divas is a biographical film about the birth of the Italian porn industry in the 1980s and 1990s. Photographer Riccardo Schicchi and his production agency revolutionize cultural politics with the idea of presenting porn actors in parliament. Cicciolina is elected with 20,000 votes, and Moana Pozzi runs for mayor. Debora also appears — a “normal” girl with a mortgage to pay off, who starts working as a secretary at the agency for a short period but stays there for ten years, finding a second family.

These iconic divas, known all over the world, each hide difficult life stories. None of them ended up in Schicchi’s orbit by chance. They want to be stars, yet every day they confront the grand illusion of fame: their notoriety is accompanied by society’s contempt. The same society that satisfies its secret and unbridled desires through them.

Awards and nominations

• 2024 — Golden Lion nomination at the Venice Film Festival
• 2024 — Toronto International Film Festival