Actresses is about a “middle-aged woman who feels, all of a sudden, that she’s woken up. As if she’d been asleep all her life, living in a dream, removed from reality. She’s an actress. Acting is her job. She’s lived on stage, loved on stage, suffered on stage, desired on stage. In her life, she is alone. Childless. Why is her life like this? Deep down, she doesn’t know,” says director and star Valeria Bruni Tedeschi of her tragic-comic second feature film. The actress at the center of the story, Marcelline, has reached a point in her life where other desires are demanding her attention ? chiefly the desire for a child. Used to living life vicariously through her roles, she’s unable to even recognize a young co-star’s developing adoration of her. The film is fleshed out by a host of oddly appealing characters ? her overbearing mother, the director’s assistant Nathalie, and the spirit of Natalia, the role that was the catalyst for Marcelline’s introspection.