Diamanti: dir Ferzan Özpetek (2024)

A dazzling film set in n 1970s Rome in a dressmaking atelier for film and theatre. The atelier is directed by two very different sisters, one determined and slightly despotic, the other more fragile and tormented. An important order comes in for a huge film set in the eighteenth century: the costume designer is an Oscar winner, the director is equally demanding. The dressmakers get to work; they don’t have much time, but plenty to contend with, including a rivalry between two prima donnas who should be prevented from crossing paths when trying on their costumes. And each of the dressmakers has their own problems at home too …

There’s a little bit of everything in the film: humour and drama, sisterhood and competition, grave losses, loves that might have been, secret relationships. The outfits are dazzling, and the sets and lighting do them justice. The result is a genuine crowd-pleaser, deploying a big cast of well-known Italian actresses (18, in all) and set in its entirety in this most glamorous of locales.

The film is in Italian, with English subtitles. It screens in the NAAS: She Reel series, which is labelled ‘Women in Society: Stories That Inspire, Change That Empowers’ and features films that are dedicated to highlighting women’s stories and raising awareness about the realities and roles of women in our lives.

Highly recommended.