Out gay filmmaker Ferzan Özpetek’s engrossing drama, “Diamonds,” celebrates women. He claims this in an early scene where he, as himself, hosts a lunch for the dozen-plus actresses who will star in his latest production — a film set in 1970s that takes place largely in a costume design studio run by two sisters Alberta (Luisa Ranieri) and Gabriella (Jasmine Trinca). When an Oscar-winning costumer, Bianca (Vanessa Scalera), asks them to make the clothes for a director’s (Stefano Accorsi) upcoming production, the team of dressmakers, including Fausta (Geppi Cucciari), Eleonora (Lunetta Savino), Nicoletta (Milena Mancini), and Paolina (Anna Ferzetti), among others, work tirelessly to meet the deadline.
All of the women have personal issues — from an abusive husband to a troubled son, to a tragedy from the past, and an ex that got away — but they are strong, like diamonds. “We are nothing, but we are everything,” one woman says in solidarity, and the feelings of sisterhood shine through.
Özpetek spoke with Gay City News about his new film and his love for actresses.
You appear in the opening of the film talking about making a film about the power of women. What is it about women that inspires you to make a film like “Diamonds”?
For ten years I wanted to make a film with the female actors I have worked with. Women are different from men in how they think, understanding things, and I have very good relationships with them. I have always been interested in talking and the idea of sisterhood and the relationship between mothers, daughters, and sisters.
I worked on the screenplay with a woman, and I wanted to talk about women working together, but I didn’t know what they would do. When I was young, I worked as an assistant, and I would go to an atelier to accompany a director or actresses for their fittings. I fetched coffee. I felt like the guy in “Diamonds.” The first time I saw Catherine Deneuve, I felt emotion and wanted to recreate that. I was an assistant who learned so much on sets as a young man. It was crazy. I would see women standing there and they would be looking at the film and the color and that light, and I thought this was silly — what are they wasting their time for? When you are on a set, all those women are there, and they are really paying attention to detail — and this detail was what I took away as a director and what I want to demonstrate in “Diamonds.” The details are the fundamental part.
Can you talk about the process of making the film?
I arrived on the first day and saw 18 trailers and 18 different set ups. I called my agent, and asked, “What is going on?” He said, “You wanted 18 actresses, you got 18 trailers and makeup people to go with it. It’s going to be a complicated shoot, but this is what it is.” The women who work on the set work all day and show 100% commitment and then go home to another life. I wanted to show them and how wonderful they are in this film.
I had two camera operators on set, and we worked 8 hours a day. Every day, the scriptwriter was always on the set so I could change the shooting days. There is a scene at the end of the film where the two sisters having a fight. The scene kept changing during the shooting because of the emotions the actresses were bringing to the set each day.
You dedicate your film to Mariangela Melato, Virna Lisi, and Monica Vitti. What inspired you about these women?
Mariangela Melato called me after my first film telling me that she wants to work with me. But time passed by, and when I called her for a part, it was too late. I thought of Virna Lisi for the part of the grandmother in a film. She loved [my 2001 film] “His Secret Life” and told me that she wanted to work with me. When I made “Steam” [1997] and won an Italian film award, Monica Vitti, said it was a wonderful film and said, in the future, you will make more beautiful movies. It was a blessing from her.
You cast many actresses you have worked with previously here. What decisions did you make with the actress and the role? Did you play to their strengths or cast them against type?
I chose the actresses, and for one reason or another, one could [participate], and one couldn’t because the timing wasn’t right. It was a magical shoot with these three main actresses. I didn’t have a plan, but it somehow came together — like magic. This Oprah Winfrey of Italy that I knew because she is a television personality, Mara Venier [Silvana in the film], she did a few small film roles in the past. She looks beautiful on TV, but I’d run into her in grocery store, and she wouldn’t be made up; she looked like any other woman. It was an unbelievable transformation. As for me being the director in the film, a wonderful singer in Italy said, “You have to be the director. You can’t let Stefano Accorsi be the director. You need to be Ferzan.” So, I said, “OK, I’ll do that, and Stefano can be the director in the movie.” There were things that I changed because people gave me advice, and there were other things that came about naturally. Because I was in the film people recognize me now.
How was the film received in Italy?
When the film ended, people applauded like they were attending the theater. It was a strange sensation. That was why I make movies, cinema, but also theater, and opera. It is a desire to give viewers emotions. The film has been a big success in Italy. It won audience prizes and was the biggest movie in Italy this year. It has an audience that wasn’t the usual audience for my films. An old man said, “I had never seen your films before, but now I want to see all your films.” It has been magical.
“Diamonds” | Directed by Ferzan Özpetek | Opening May 15 at the Angelika Film Center | Distributed by Outsider Pictures
