At the end of the First World War, as Italy buries its unknown soldier, the great Eleonora Duse reaches the end of a legendary career. But despite her age and fragile health, the woman many consider to be the greatest actress of her time decides to return to the stage. Her daughter's complaints, her complex relationship with the great poet D'Annunzio, the rise of fascism and Mussolini's ascent to power – nothing would stop Duse, ‘the Divine’.
Pietro Marcello
He was born in Caserta in Campania in 1976. A graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts in Naples, he made his first short films in the 2000s, before signing his first feature, ‘Crossing the Line’ (2007), premiered in the Orizzonti section of the Venice Film Festival. It was in 2009 with ‘The Mouth of the Wolf’, which won awards at the Berlinale (Forum section), Bafici and Cinéma du Réel, that he gained international recognition. His subsequent films, including ‘Lost and Beautiful’ (2015), established him as one of the most inventive documentary filmmakers of his generation. But it is especially with ‘Martin Eden’ (2019), his first fiction film, that the public discovered his talent. The film earned Luca Marinelli the Volpi Cup for Best Actor and won awards at festivals around the world, as well as four nominations for the European Film Academy Awards. His subsequent feature films competed in Berlin (‘For Lucio’, 2021), Cannes (‘Futura’, 2021, and ‘Scarlet’, 2022) and Venice (‘Duse’, 2025).
DIRECTOR
Pietro Marcello
SCREENPLAY
Pietro Marcello, Letizia Russo, Guido Silei
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Marco Graziaplena
EDITOR
Fabrizio Federico, Cristiano Travaglioli
SOUND
Denny De Angelis, Federico Cabula
MUSIC
Fabrizio Elvetico, Marco Messina, Sacha Ricci
PRODUCTION
Carlo Degli Esposti, Nicola Serra, Marco Grifoni, Benedetta Cappon
PRODUCTION COMPANY
Palomar, Avventurosa, Rai Cinema, PiperFilm, Ad Vitam Films
