Italy’s PiperFilm has secured a North American distribution deal for Diva Futura, the highly anticipated biopic on the birth of Italy’s porn industry, with Breaking Glass Pictures.

The film, directed by Giulia Louise Steigerwalt, premiered in competition at the Venice Film Festival and is set for an Italian theatrical release on February 6 through PiperFilm.

Italy, 1980s/1990s. Riccardo Schicchi, with his agency Diva Futura, revolutionizes mass culture by transforming the hippie utopia of free love into a new phenomenon: porn. Under his guidance, “girls next door” like Ilona Staller, Moana Pozzi, Eva Henger and many others suddenly become world-famous divas in the world of porn and enter Italian homes thanks to the boom in private television and VHS video recorders. The term “pornstar” is coined, marking the beginning of a new era.

The media impact is overwhelming, leading to the election to Parliament of Ilona Staller, known as “Cicciolina”, to the birth of the Partito dell’Amore and to the candidacy of Moana Pozzi as mayor of Rome. It is through the eyes of Debora, a young secretary of the agency with a mortgage on her shoulders, that the adventure of this large “family” is told, where jealousies, torments and contradictions explode until they lose control over the pornography industry itself.

All this happened because there was a desire as hidden as it was great: that of everyone.

A fictionalized account of Italy’s adult entertainment revolution in the 1980s and 90s, Diva Futura, follows Riccardo Schicchi, the pioneering porn producer behind Diva Futura, the country’s first major adult agency. The agency helped launch the careers of Cicciolina (Ilona Staller), who later became a member of the Italian Parliament and was famously married to artist Jeff Koons, as well as Moana Pozzi and Eva Henger, both of whom became cultural icons in Italy.

The film features a star-studded cast, including:

• Pietro Castellitto
• Barbara Ronchi
• Denise Capezza
• Tesa Litvan
• Lidija Kordic

Produced by Banijay’s Groenlandia and PiperFilm in collaboration with RAI Cinema, Diva Futura takes a modern, female-driven perspective on an era often dominated by male narratives.

Catia Rossi, PiperFilm’s director of international operations, expressed enthusiasm about partnering with Breaking Glass Pictures for the North American release:

“We are enthusiastic that the film will hit the theatres in North America through our old friends at Breaking Glass Pictures. They are lovers and fans of Italian cinema, having distributed several great pictures from Italy in the past.”

Rossi also praised director Giulia Louise Steigerwalt, emphasizing the film’s contemporary approach to historical events:

“We are proud to represent a young talented woman director like Giulia Louise Steigerwalt, who has succeeded in telling a story of the past, describing the birth of porn in Italy, using a contemporary approach and a modern view. Someone said this is a movie for women, and I agree.”

Breaking Glass Pictures, a Philadelphia-based distributor, has a history of bringing critically acclaimed Italian films to U.S. audiences. The company specializes in LGBTQ+, indie, and international cinema, making Diva Futura a fitting addition to its lineup.

With the cultural fascination surrounding adult entertainment history, Diva Futura is expected to spark discussion and controversy, much like its real-life subjects did decades ago. The North American release date is yet to be announced.