🎬 Arianna

Arianna (Ondina Quadri) is a nineteen-year-old Italian woman who still has not experienced her first menstrual cycle, despite receiving medical hormone therapy prescribed by her physician father, Marcello (Massimo Popolizio). Struggling with a sense of delayed development and feeling disconnected from her own body, she spends the summer with her parents at their isolated family house near Lake Bolsena—a place she hasn't visited since early childhood.

Revisiting childhood haunts and connecting with her vibrant cousin, Arianna begins to re-examine long-buried memories and physical sensations. Unsatisfied with her parents' guarded explanations, she secretly investigates her medical records, uncovering a life-altering truth: she was born intersex, and her parents had authorized surgery on her as an infant to align her anatomy with typical female physical norms. Armed with this revelation, Arianna embarks on an intimate journey of self-determination and bodily reclamation.

💡 Did you know?
Venice Film Festival Triumph: The film made its international debut in Venice Days (Giornate degli Autori) at the 72nd Venice International Film Festival, where breakout lead actress Ondina Quadri won the prestigious FEDIC Award for Best Actress.

FIPRESCI & Globo d'Oro Recognition: Ondina Quadri's extraordinary performance earned widespread Italian industry acclaim, including the Globo d'Oro for Breakthrough Actress from the Foreign Press Association in Italy.

World-Class Cinematography: Shot by renowned French cinematographer Hélène Louvart (Happy as Lazzaro, Never Rarely Sometimes Always, The Wonders), who brought a tactile, dreamlike naturalism to the Tuscan landscape.

Groundbreaking Intersex Focus: Arianna stands as one of the few contemporary European narrative feature films to directly and respectfully address intersex identity, medical consent, and bodily autonomy.

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