September 19, 2026
FILM: IDDA
DIRECTED BY: IRENE DIONISIO
WRITTEN BY: MARCO BORROMEI, IRENE DIONISIO
STARRING: TECLA INSOLIA, ROMAN MAGGIORA VERGANO
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
In Sicily stands the mighty Mt. Etna billowing smoke and making noise for more than just a few centuries. Adele and Sofia have been there before but this is their chance for a new adventure and to recapture thrills of the past. However, they don’t have the same priorities: one is stuck in the past while the other looks to the future. Italian writer/director Irene Dionisio’s new film IDDA is about these women and that mountain and how their lives intertwine and evolve. It’s a fictional but visually stunning look at the powerful wonder of nature and relationships.
Dionisio opens the film with curious shots of Mt. Etna seemingly erupting. The images look a bit grainy as if they were shot using Super 8 home movie film. These are then cut with shots of Adele in bed, perhaps dreaming or remembering her previous time there. Adele is a photographer who stays connected to her past by regularly capturing specific moments with her camera. This contrasts with her friend Sofia who is more of an adventurer ready for something new. Sofia left the area some time ago but has returned to take this journey up the mountain with Adele again.
Almost immediately the tension between the two is palpable. Jealousies arise when Adele meets Florian, a documentary filmmaker who is interested in how time transforms how we feel. This marks one of the major themes of the film coinciding with Adele’s own visual study on how things disappear. Clearly, Sofia disappeared from Adele’s life for a lengthy period of time. It’s alluded to that their relationship may have been intimate. Yet Sofia has a boyfriend back home. When Sofia shows interest in Florian it’s yet another sign that their connection has evolved. Adele is not happy witnessing it unless somehow she can rekindle that intimacy with Sofia. Because Adele is so focused on the past and Sofia isn’t, what happened during their previous time at Mt. Etna takes on different meanings for them. Again, it’s disappearance, memory, and evolution that draw the tension.
Dionisio’s film is filled with metaphors such as these that compare the relationship of the women to what is happening around the mountain. Of course, it is constantly evolving and erupting. Trees disappear that are in its path. Rocks and the earth move. There is constant change. Is “constant change” an oxymoron though? Can something be stable and yet ever evolving? Interestingly, Sofia’s boyfriend’s name is Constant. This sets up some of Sofia’s inner turmoil as she doesn’t seem to want the complacency of a stable relationship. Clearly her life choices and sexuality are fluid. Adele doesn’t want to let go whereas Sofia lives off breaking rules.
As much as Adele wants that stability she also has experienced change, including the death of her mother and her name: She’s referred to as “Ita,” pronounced very similarly to what the locals call Mt. Etna, “Idda.” (Hence, the title of the film.) She is the human version of the mountain standing tall but on the verge of erupting at any time.
The actresses who play the characters are both accomplished and committed to their roles. Tecla Insolia as Adele is particularly beautiful with a sparkling smile and ever evolving mood swings on display. Romana Maggiora Vergano captures the spirit of Sofia in her energy and visible resistance to being stuck in memories and the past.
The soundtrack of IDDA is also quite remarkable to hear. Featuring the sounds of tremors, winds, animals, rocks falling, and eruptions, the design is multi-layered. Adding to this is an electronic, experimental score which blurs the lines between natural sounds and non-diegetic atmospheric intensity.
The cinematography also stands out whether it be the perspective from Adele’s camera or capturing the natural beauty of beaches and mountains. The film is quite stunning to view. There is also a sex scene which is tastefully done and visually related to the flow of lava as it moves and mixes together. Eruptions happen among all things physical from mountains to people’s lives.
If some of the thematic elements might feel a bit obvious and the female relationship/jealousies/intimacy issues might also feel familiar it is still a rich film that is well-directed and quite amazing to view.
IDDA is premiering this week at the Toronto International Film Festival.
FILM: IDDA
DIRECTED BY: IRENE DIONISIO
WRITTEN BY: MARCO BORROMEI, IRENE DIONISIO
STARRING: TECLA INSOLIA, ROMAN MAGGIORA VERGANO
RATING: 3 ½ out of 4 stars
By Dan Pal
In Sicily stands the mighty Mt. Etna billowing smoke and making noise for more than just a few centuries. Adele and Sofia have been there before but this is their chance for a new adventure and to recapture thrills of the past. However, they don’t have the same priorities: one is stuck in the past while the other looks to the future. Italian writer/director Irene Dionisio’s new film IDDA is about these women and that mountain and how their lives intertwine and evolve. It’s a fictional but visually stunning look at the powerful wonder of nature and relationships.
Dionisio opens the film with curious shots of Mt. Etna seemingly erupting. The images look a bit grainy as if they were shot using Super 8 home movie film. These are then cut with shots of Adele in bed, perhaps dreaming or remembering her previous time there. Adele is a photographer who stays connected to her past by regularly capturing specific moments with her camera. This contrasts with her friend Sofia who is more of an adventurer ready for something new. Sofia left the area some time ago but has returned to take this journey up the mountain with Adele again.
Almost immediately the tension between the two is palpable. Jealousies arise when Adele meets Florian, a documentary filmmaker who is interested in how time transforms how we feel. This marks one of the major themes of the film coinciding with Adele’s own visual study on how things disappear. Clearly, Sofia disappeared from Adele’s life for a lengthy period of time. It’s alluded to that their relationship may have been intimate. Yet Sofia has a boyfriend back home. When Sofia shows interest in Florian it’s yet another sign that their connection has evolved. Adele is not happy witnessing it unless somehow she can rekindle that intimacy with Sofia. Because Adele is so focused on the past and Sofia isn’t, what happened during their previous time at Mt. Etna takes on different meanings for them. Again, it’s disappearance, memory, and evolution that draw the tension.
Dionisio’s film is filled with metaphors such as these that compare the relationship of the women to what is happening around the mountain. Of course, it is constantly evolving and erupting. Trees disappear that are in its path. Rocks and the earth move. There is constant change. Is “constant change” an oxymoron though? Can something be stable and yet ever evolving? Interestingly, Sofia’s boyfriend’s name is Constant. This sets up some of Sofia’s inner turmoil as she doesn’t seem to want the complacency of a stable relationship. Clearly her life choices and sexuality are fluid. Adele doesn’t want to let go whereas Sofia lives off breaking rules.
As much as Adele wants that stability she also has experienced change, including the death of her mother and her name: She’s referred to as “Ita,” pronounced very similarly to what the locals call Mt. Etna, “Idda.” (Hence, the title of the film.) She is the human version of the mountain standing tall but on the verge of erupting at any time.
The actresses who play the characters are both accomplished and committed to their roles. Tecla Insolia as Adele is particularly beautiful with a sparkling smile and ever evolving mood swings on display. Romana Maggiora Vergano captures the spirit of Sofia in her energy and visible resistance to being stuck in memories and the past.
The soundtrack of IDDA is also quite remarkable to hear. Featuring the sounds of tremors, winds, animals, rocks falling, and eruptions, the design is multi-layered. Adding to this is an electronic, experimental score which blurs the lines between natural sounds and non-diegetic atmospheric intensity.
The cinematography also stands out whether it be the perspective from Adele’s camera or capturing the natural beauty of beaches and mountains. The film is quite stunning to view. There is also a sex scene which is tastefully done and visually related to the flow of lava as it moves and mixes together. Eruptions happen among all things physical from mountains to people’s lives.
If some of the thematic elements might feel a bit obvious and the female relationship/jealousies/intimacy issues might also feel familiar it is still a rich film that is well-directed and quite amazing to view.
IDDA is premiering this week at the Toronto International Film Festival.