Sophia Loren returns to movies with The Life Ahead

Sophia Loren has announced her return to the big screen for the first time in ten years, with Netflix film The Life Ahead.

Directed by Loren's son, Edoardo Ponti, The Life Ahead is adapted from a novel by Romain Gary and tells the story of Madame Rosa, a Jewish survivor of the Holocaust who raises the children of prostitutes with whom she once walked the streets. Rosa befriends a 12-year-old Senegalese orphan, played by Ibrahima Gueye.

Speaking to Deadline, Loren listed the appeal of her character: "I loved portraying Madame Rosa. She is tough, she is fragile, she is a survivor. In many ways she reminds me of my own mother."

Admitting she was always a fan of Gary's novel, Loren then professed: "When my son proposed the role to me, it was a dream come true. I jumped at the opportunity to make it."

The 86-year-old Oscar winner went on: "The story is so rich: it’s funny, it’s heartbreaking, it’s poetic but it’s also a story that is very timely as it deals with the importance of being seen and heard."

Noting: "This is the third time I worked with my son," she praised Edoardo.

"It is a true gift working with a person who knows you as well as you know yourself, there is a short hand, he gives me strength and security and he won’t give up until I give my very best," she exalted.

Loren added that working with her son is an experience she will "cherish forever both as an actor and as a mother".
The Life Ahead will premiere worldwide on Netflix in November.