Italian director, actress, and cinematographer Samantha Casella presented The Serpent’s Caress, the third and final installment of her Trilogy of the Subconscious, at the Hotel Excelsior during the 2026 Venice Film Festival.
On September 8 at 8:30 p.m., Casella introduced a 40-minute public excerpt of the film in the Tropicana Room at the Hotel Excelsior on the Lido di Venezia. The Venice presentation follows the international recognition of Casella’s 2024 feature Katabasis, which has received more than 600 awards worldwide.
Beginning September 9, The Serpent’s Caress will also be made available online through a QR code published in The Hollywood Reporter magazine, pairing a high-profile Venice presentation with direct access for audiences around the world.
“On the one hand, we celebrate the film in the temple of cinema; on the other, we offer it directly to an international audience, without barriers,” said Casella.
The Serpent’s Caress is rooted in Orphic cosmology and the myth of Ananke, the goddess of Necessity who governs the universe. The film also draws upon the Ouroboros—the ancient symbol of a serpent consuming its own tail—to explore the circularity of time, trauma, guilt, and destiny.
Casella plays Sofia, a woman suspended between the tangible world and a darker, primordial realm that appears to have selected her. The character’s internal conflict is shaped by the tension between human imperfection and an inescapable metaphysical calling.
“The Serpent’s Caress traverses eras, time periods, perhaps actual dimensions,” Casella said. “Sofia is perpetually balanced between the real world, which makes her an imperfect woman, prone to weaknesses and feelings, and a primordial universe that chose her, ‘touched’ her, and covered her in darkness.”
The cast also includes Bruno Ballotta, known for The Equalizer 3 and Those About to Die, alongside Francesca Rettondini and Laura Trotter.
With The Serpent’s Caress, Casella brings her Trilogy of the Subconscious to a close. The trilogy began with Santa Guerra and continued with Katabasis, using symbolic, psychological, and mythic storytelling to examine the forces that shape human experience.
The final chapter revisits themes that run throughout Casella’s work: trauma as a catalyst, the wound of the soul as a source of action, and time as a recurring rather than linear force. Its narrative unfolds through a non-linear structure, archetypal imagery, and cultural references that include Hans Holbein and Fyodor Dostoevsky.
“The journey into the subconscious that characterizes the entire trilogy thrives on recurring symbolic themes,” Casella explained. “Trauma is a driving force, and the wound of the soul triggers the events that move the protagonist through the circularity of time.”
“The myth of the Ouroboros—the serpent eating its own tail, which defines the cyclical nature of time—is revisited. Like the previous films, this final chapter develops through a non-linear structure, archetypal imagery, and references to Holbein and Dostoevsky.”
For Casella, the film’s symbolic language ultimately serves an emotional purpose.
“I believe that all stories carry the same story within them. Places, times, and forms change, but the joys, sorrows, and everything that ignites the human heart always tell the same thing. The questions that truly matter in life are few, and they are the same for all of us.”
Although Casella’s films are rich in mythological and symbolic imagery, she does not use symbolism as a means of distance. Instead, she treats it as a bridge between private experience and collective memory, bringing together the conflicting dimensions of an individual soul and a shared human history.
“For this reason, I think my films, as visionary, layered, and at times challenging as they may be, always retain a strong and pulsating humanity,” she said.
Casella once again takes on multiple creative responsibilities in The Serpent’s Caress: she directs, stars as the protagonist, and personally handles the cinematography. While the combination requires extraordinary focus, she views that complete immersion as integral to the work.
“Initially, much like what happened with Katabasis, I feared that acting might drain energy and focus from my directing,” Casella said. “It is a natural fear, particularly in my films, where I personally handle the cinematography as well, so visual control must be total.”
“Managing this dual role was exhausting, but it did not create obstacles. My films stem from a deep personal urgency and, one way or another, absorb every part of me.”
