original title:
Vita mia
directed by:
cast:
Dominique Sanda, Celeste Casciaro, Ignazio Oliva, Franco Ferrante, Karolina Porcari, Anna Boccadamo, Francesca Ziggiotti, Johanna Orsini, Dora Sztarenki, Josef Scholler, Stefan Liechtenstein, Christian Liechtenstein
screenplay:
cinematography:
editing:
set design:
costume design:
music:
producer:
production:
Stemal Entertainment, Saietta Film, Les Films d'Ici, Rai Cinema, supported by Ministero della Cultura
world sales:
country:
Italy/France
year:
2025
film run:
125'
format:
colour
status:
Ready (07/11/2025)
festivals & awards:
Didi’s life spans an entire century of European history. Born into one of Hungary’s most noble families, as a child she witnesses first the Nazi invasion and later the rise of communism. Forced into exile in France, she works as a seamstress at Maison Dior before marrying an Italian nobleman and settling in Salento, where she will spend the rest of her days. The film portrays her in old age – ill, yet still proud – compelled to seek help from Vita, a young woman from Puglia. Between the two grows a bond of respect and understanding that transcends social and cultural divides. Didi faces the hardships of a declining aristocracy, while Vita wavers between fascination with nobility and loyalty to her family’s class ideals. A journey to Hungary for her father’s beatification trial brings Didi face to face with the wounds of her past: war, the Shoah, and the survivor’s guilt that lingers. Her return to her homeland becomes a reckoning with memory and with herself. Through Vita’s friendship and care, Didi ultimately finds a new sense of balance – and a fragile, rediscovered serenity.