Actor-turned-director Anna Foglietta is presenting her directorial debut, "A Common Story," at the Venice Film Festival, having previously hosted the event in 2020. The marriage drama stars Alba Rohrwacher, known for Pablo Larraín's "Maria" and her role on the 2025 Cannes jury, as Erika, a middle-aged woman whose quiet rural life with her husband Mauro unravels after their daughter leaves for university abroad. Foglietta told Variety the film explores an overlooked, unglamorous section of society, examining how a lack of self-awareness and emotional tools can strain a long marriage once the routines that once held it together disappear.

Foglietta co-wrote the story with screenwriter Matteo Ferri, drawing on observations of overly child-centric parenting that leaves adults neglecting their own emotional development. She praised Rohrwacher's willingness to portray a woman going through menopause with unflinching honesty, including a scene where her husband cruelly tells her "no one needs you anymore." Foglietta also criticised Venice's gender imbalance this year, noting only one woman director is in the main competition, though the Horizons sidebar fares better with eight of 19 films directed by women, which she called evidence of a systemic rather than talent-based problem. The film is sold by True Colours and produced by HT Film, Indigo Film, Tenderstories and Blu One Lab, with support from Rai Cinema and HBO Max.