The cast for Paolo Strippoli’s upcoming film has been assembled! According to The Cinemaholic, Matilda De Angelis will co-star with Isabelle Huppert and Jasmine Trinca in the upcoming thriller “The Stranger.” Also cast is Romana Maggiora Vergano. From May 5 to June 30, 2025, filming will be conducted in Apulia and Lazio, Italy, and France. Salvatore de Chirico and Strippoli authored the screenplay.
The main character, Anna, shows up at the door of her 28-year-old daughter Alice out of the blue and discloses that their entire family history is based on a fabrication she made up. She claims that following an accident twenty years prior, she struck a bargain with an enigmatic “Stranger” in order to save Alice’s leg. Only Alice can help her make amends for the horrible things that have happened over the years as a result of the bargain. But at what price? From an accident in a Bari villa to the Apocalypse, the plot tells a twenty-year family epic that combines Greek tragedies and Faustian elements.
In French cinema, Isabelle Huppert is a highly regarded figure. Erika Kohut in Michael Haneke’s “The Piano Teacher,” which centers on a teacher-student relationship, and Augustine in François Ozon’s “8 Women,” a crime comedy musical about eight women suspected of murder, are among the actor’s most well-known performances. Her other noteworthy acting roles include Greta Hideg in Neil Jordan’s “Greta,” which co-stars Chloë Grace Moretz, and Michèle in Paul Verhoeven’s criminal thriller “Elle.” Huppert last appeared in André Téchiné’s “My New Friends” as the ethically torn police woman Lucie Muller, and Patricia Mazuy’s “Visiting Hours,” which examines the relationship between two women whose husbands are incarcerated in the same facility, as Alma Lund. She portrayed Cosima Pia in the epic war drama series “Lines of Wellington” and Jacqueline in the Amazon drama series “The Romanoffs” on television.
Jasmine Trinca’s most recent acting credits include Annamaria Muscarà in Ferzan Özpetek’s comedy “The Goddess of Fortune,” which centers on a gay couple caring for two children left in their care by one of their friends; Italian educator Maria Montessori in Léa Todorov’s biographical drama “Maria Montessori”; and Gabriella in Ferzan Özpetek’s seamstress-focused comedy drama “Diamanti.” In terms of television, she most recently portrayed Ida Ramundo in the historical drama series “La Storia,” which is about a Jewish single mother attempting to safeguard her child in 1940s Rome, and Lucia in the Netflix series “Supersex,” which is based on the life of pornstar Rocco Siffredi.
The Netflix historical series “The Law According to Lidia Poët,” which is based on the life and career of Italy’s first female lawyer, starred Matilda De Angelis as Lidia Poët. In Renato De Maria’s action comedy “Robbing Mussolini,” she played Yvonne, a member of a gang that planned to steal Benito Mussolini’s wealth. Renata Contarini in Paula Ortiz’s war romance “Across the River and Into the Trees” and Albertine in Sergio Castellitto’s romantic comedy “A Bookshop in Paris” are two of her other noteworthy roles.
Romana Maggiora Vergano’s portrayal of Marcella in Paola Cortellesi’s post-war Rome comedy “There’s Still Tomorrow” catapulted her to fame. She portrayed Salena in Peacock’s historical drama series “Those About to Die,” and Michela in the Sky Original criminal fantasy series “Christian.” Her most recent acting roles are Francesca in Francesca Comencini’s “The Time It Takes,” which highlights the director’s connection with her father, and Vittoria in Alejandro Monteverde’s biographical drama “Cabrini,” which is based on the life of Catholic missionary Francesca Cabrini.
