London audiences were treated to something a little different as part of the Cinema Made in Italy festival 2025: “Diva Futura,” a darkly comic, satirical look at the beginnings of the porn industry in Italy back in the 80s, courtesy of Riccardo Schicchi.

Fred Film Radio sat down with the movie’s writer and director, Giulia Steigerwalt, to hear about telling the story from the perspective of his secretary, Debora Attanasio, based on her 2013 book, “Don’t Tell Mom I’m a Secretary.”

Steigerwalt explained she was drawn to exploring this tale on screen after learning how everything about the porn studio, and Schicchi himself, was the opposite of the exploitative and degrading environment she imagined, and indeed, what is has since become.

The director also gave some insight into the roots and execution of the movie’s irreverent playful tone, one stemming from both Schicchi‘s own book and testimonials from others, describing him as a “childish, playful man”. We further heard about nailing the retro aesthetic of the era, as well as the complexity of shooting the many intimate scenes with a female gaze with care alongside an intimacy coordinator.

With a shocking statistic that nowadays, 95% of porn is violent, Steigerwalt emphasised how she hoped her feature would prompt conversation about the state of the porn industry today – and one day see it improved.

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