Shooting kicked off yesterday in Rome on Ferzan Ozpetek’s latest feature film, Nella gioia e nel dolore. Produced by Marco Belardi Production, Faros Film, A1 Pictures and Vision Distribution, in collaboration with Sky, the project sees the Italian-Turkish director stepping back behind the cameras off the back of Diamanti, which proved a box office champion in Italy’s most recent film season.

It’s since been announced that Amanda Lear will appear in the film, joining an ensemble cast of actors whose names have already been revealed over the past few weeks. The movie will feature a few familiar faces from the director’s recent filmography, including Vanessa Scalera, Mara Venier and Geppi Cucciari (of Diamanti), and Luca Argentero (Saturn in Opposition, The Ignorant Angels), while new faces include Sabrina Ferilli (The Great Beauty, Tutta la vita davanti) in her first Ozpetek film, and Spanish actor Miguel Ángel Silvestre (mostly known internationally for his part in the series Sense8 and the movie Sky Rojo). Milena Mancini (Boys Cry), Milena Vukotic, Giselda Volodi, Loredana Cannata, Rebecca Massimo and Andrea Di Luigi are rounding out the cast, alongside Liliana Bottone, Erik Tonelli, Carmine Recano, Alvise Rigo, Lorenzo Franzin and Marco Aceti.

The screenplay was penned by Ozpetek himself, together with Carlotta Corradi (Diamanti, Beata te) and Elisa Casseri (Diamanti, Marko Polo). The story revolves around a film diva and a group of friends tied together by a shared past, to focus on the value of memory, love and friendship. According to the production team, the film is “an ode to love and friendship, which can stand the test of time, through joy and pain”.

On the technical side, photography is managed by Gian Filippo Corticelli (who won a David di Donatello for his work on Naples in Veils and was previously nominated for Facing Windows, Sacred Heart and Fasten Your Seatbelts) while set design falls to Deniz Kobanbay (Diamanti, Istanbul Red). Costumes are curated by Stefano Ciammitti, editing by Pietro Morana and original music by Giuliano Taviani and Carmelo Travia.

For the record, the director’s previous work, Diamanti, which was released in December 2024, drew in over 2.4 million viewers to Italian cinemas and earned 16.4 million euros, making it the greatest commercial success of Ozpetek’s career (outstripping his previous record holder from 2003, Facing Windows, which made 10.8 million euros). The film was also distributed in over 100 global territories.

Nella gioia e nel dolore will be released in Italian cinemas at Christmas this year, courtesy of Vision Distribution, who are also handling world sales.