Duse (film)

Duse is an upcoming biographical film directed by Pietro Marcello, co-written by Marcello, Letizia Russo and Guido Silei.^[1] Starring Valeria Bruni Tedeschi in the titular role, it follows the life of Italian stage actress Eleonora Duse prior to the World War I, and the abrupt societal changes caused by the conflict.^[3][4]

Duse
Italian theatrical release poster
Directed by	Pietro Marcello
Screenplay by	Pietro Marcello Letizia Russo Guido Silei[1]
Starring	Valeria Bruni Tedeschi Noémie Merlant Mimmo Borrelli Fausto Russo Alesi Marcello Mazzarella
Cinematography	Marco Graziaplena
Edited by	Fabrizio Federico[2] Cristiano Travaglioli
Music by	Fabrizio Elvetico Marco Messina Sacha Ricci
Production companies	Palomar Avventurosa Ad Vitam Rai Cinema PiperFilm
Distributed by	PiperFilm (Italy)
Release dates	3 September 2025 (2025-09-03) (Venice) 18 September 2025 (2025-09-18) (Italy)
Running time	122 minutes
Countries	Italy France
Language	Italian
Budget	€7.6 million[citation needed]

The film will have its world premiere in the main competition of the 82nd Venice International Film Festival on 3 September 2025, where it was nominated for the Golden Lion.^[5] It will be theatrically released in Italy on 18 September by PiperFilm.

Premise

In the wake of the First World War, former actress Eleonora Duse makes a return to the stage, contending with the limits of her own body as well as realities of power at odds with her utopian ideals.^[3]

Cast

• Valeria Bruni Tedeschi as Eleonora Duse
• Noémie Merlant as Enrichetta Checchi, Duse's daughter
• Mimmo Borrelli as Ermete Zacconi
• Fausto Russo Alesi
• Marcello Mazzarella
• Fanni Wrochna
• Vincenzo Pirrotta
• Federico Pacifici
• Vincenza Modica
• Edoardo Sorgente
• Savino Paparella
• Vincenzo Nemolato
• Stefano Rosato

Production

The Match Factory opened Duse to international pre-sale at the Marché du Film during the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.^[4] That May, Variety reported that production on the film was underway.^[3]