Vita mia

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Vita mia

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

cinematography:

set design:

costume design:

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.