Reflection in a Dead Diamond

Reflection in a Dead Diamond
French theatrical release poster
FrenchReflet dans un diamant mort
Directed byHélène Cattet
Bruno Forzani
Written by
  • Hélène Cattet
  • Bruno Forzani
Produced byPierre Foulon
Starring
CinematographyManu Dacosse
Edited byBernard Beets
Production
companies
  • Kozak Films
  • Les Films Fauves
  • Dandy Projects
  • Tobina Films
  • Savage Film
  • To Be Continued
Distributed by
  • UFO Distribution (France)
  • Cinéart (Belgium)
  • Lucky Red (Italy)
Release dates
  • 16 February 2025 (2025-02-16) (Berlinale)
  • 30 April 2025 (2025-04-30) (Belgium)
  • 25 June 2025 (2025-06-25) (France)
  • 3 July 2025 (2025-07-03) (Italy)
Running time
87 minutes
Countries
  • Belgium
  • Luxembourg
  • Italy
  • France
Languages
  • French
  • Italian
  • English
Box office$70,269

Reflection in a Dead Diamond (French: Reflet dans un diamant mort) is a 2025 action mystery thriller film written and directed by Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani. A homage to 1960s Eurospy films, it follows John Diman (Fabio Testi), a septuagenarian retired spy living on the French Riviera, who fears his former enemies are back for a final fight when his intriguing next-door neighbor mysteriously disappears.

The film had its world premiere in the main competition of the 75th Berlin International Film Festival on 16 February 2025, where it was nominated for the Golden Bear. It was released theatrically in Belgium on 30 April 2025 by Cinéart in France on 25 June 2025 by UFO Distribution and in Italy on 3 July 2025 by Lucky Red.

Premise

John D, a retired spy in his 70s residing in a luxurious hotel on the French Riviera, is fascinated by his new neighbor, who kindles his memories of the Riviera's vibrant days in the 1960s. When his neighbor vanishes without a trace, John is forced to confront his past demons.

Cast

Production

In January 2023, screen.brussels invested €150,000 in the film. Five days of the filming were done in Brussels out of a total of forty days. Filming wrapped in December 2023. It is produced by Kozak Films, Les Films Fauves, Dandy Projects, Tobina Film, Savage Film, and To Be Continued with the backing of screen.brussels.

Release

Reflection in a Dead Diamond had its world premiere in the main competition of 75th Berlin International Film Festival on 16 February 2025. In May 2024, the Italian sales company True Colours acquired worldwide rights to the film. Ahead of the film's world premiere, Shudder acquired distribution rights to North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, and released the film on its platform in those territories on 5 December 2025.

The film competed in the official competition Grand Prix competition at the Luxembourg City Film Festival on 7 March 2025. It also competed in the International Narrative Competition section of the 24th Tribeca Festival and was screened on 9 June 2025. The film was also selected at the 29th Fantasia International Film Festival for screening on 17 July 2025, showcased at the 31st Sarajevo Film Festival in the "Kinoscope" section in August 2025, and screened in the "Strands: Cult" section of the 2025 BFI London Film Festival on 13 October.

On 13 October 2025, the film competed in the 58th Sitges Film Festival in the Oficial Fantàstic Competició section, vying for the various awards given in the section. It was also screened in the Twilight Zone section of the 2025 Stockholm International Film Festival on 5 November and was presented in the Macabre Deams section of the 56th International Film Festival of India in November 2025.

Reflection in a Dead Diamond was released theatrically in Belgium on 30 April 2025 by Cinéart in France on 25 June 2025 by UFO Distribution and in Italy on 3 July 2025 by Lucky Red.

Reception

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 85% of 46 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.7/10. The website's consensus reads: "A dazzling monument to lurid cinema that gleams with stylistic verve, Reflection in a Dead Diamond might be directors Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani's most cohesive and thrilling genre pastiche yet." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 78 out of 100, based on 9 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

Accolades

Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Berlin International Film Festival 23 February 2025 Golden Bear Reflection in a Dead Diamond Nominated
Fangoria Chainsaw Awards 25 October 2026 Best International Movie Nominated
Best Streaming Premiere Nominated
Gotham TV Awards 1 June 2026 Outstanding Original Film, Broadcast or Streaming Hélène Cattet, Bruno Forzani, and Pierre Foulon Won
Outstanding Performance in an Original Film Yannick Renier Nominated
Luxembourg City Film Festival 16 March 2025 Grand Prix Reflection in a Dead Diamond Nominated
René Awards 7 March 2026 Best Actor Yannick Renier Won
Best Cinematography Manuel Dacosse Won
Best Costume Design Jackye Fauconnier Won
Best Production Design Laurie Colson Won
Best Sound Dan Bruylandt, Olivier Thys, Mathieu Cox, and Aline Gavroy Nominated
Seattle Film Critics Society 15 December 2025 Best Film Editing Bernard Beets Nominated
Sitges Film Festival 19 October 2025 Best Feature Film Reflection in a Dead Diamond Nominated
José Luis Guarner Critics Award for Best Film Won

Notes

References

  1. ↑ "Reflection in a Dead Diamond (2025)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
  2. ↑ De Marco, Camillo (15 May 2024). "Italy's True Colours pins its hopes on foreign titles at Cannes". Cineuropa.
  3. 1 2 3 Dams, Tim (2 May 2024). "True Colours adds Cattet & Forzani's 'Reflection in a Dead Diamond' to Cannes slate (exclusive)". Screen Daily. Archived from the original on 1 January 2026. Retrieved 21 January 2025.
  4. ↑ "Reflection in a Dead Diamond". Film Fund Luxembourg. 2 May 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2025.
  5. ↑ Rosser, Michael (21 January 2025). "Berlin Film Festival reveals 2025 competition line-up 2025". Screen Daily. Archived from the original on 25 January 2025. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
  6. ↑ "Reflet dans un diamant mort" [Reflection in a Dead Diamond] (in French). Screen Brussels. 12 September 2024. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
  7. ↑ "Reflection in a Dead Diamond". Cineuropa. 21 January 2025. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
  8. ↑ Abbatescianni, Davide (21 January 2025). "The Berlinale unveils the titles playing in its Competition and its Perspectives and Berlinale Special strands". Cineuropa. Retrieved 21 January 2025.
  9. ↑ Ntim, Zac (21 January 2025). "Berlin Film Festival Lineup: Richard Linklater, Jessica Chastain, A$AP Rocky & Marion Cotillard Movies Among Vibrant Selection". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 21 January 2025.
  10. ↑ "Reflection in a Dead Diamond". Berlin International Film Festival. 16 February 2025. Retrieved 4 February 2025.
  11. ↑ Keslassy, Elsa (10 February 2025). "Shudder Buys 'Reflection in a Dead Diamond' for Multiple Territories Ahead of Berlin Festival Premiere (Exclusive)". Variety.
  12. ↑ Mack, Andrew (24 November 2025). "Shudder in December: 'Reflection in a Dead Diamond', 'Influencers', 'Queens of the Dead', Holiday Specials, and More!". ScreenAnarchy. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
  13. ↑ "Reflection in a Dead Diamond". Luxembourg City Film Festival. 28 January 2025. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
  14. ↑ Popp, Olivia (18 April 2025). "European productions set to make a great first impression at Tribeca". Cineuropa. Retrieved 3 July 2025.
  15. ↑ Foreman, Alison (5 June 2025). "Ari Aster's 'Eddington' Will Open Fantasia Fest 2025 – More from the Second Wave Lineup". IndieWire. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
  16. ↑ "Introducing the Kinoscope Program of the 31st Sarajevo Film Festival". Sarajevo Film Festival. 13 August 2025. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  17. ↑ Ntim, Zac (3 September 2025). "BFI London Film Festival: Chloé Zhao's 'Hamnet' & Kate Moss Biopic 'Moss & Freud' Among Headline Titles – Full List". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  18. ↑ "Reflection in a Dead Diamond". BFI London Film Festival. 3 September 2025. Retrieved 3 September 2025.
  19. ↑ Popp, Olivia (11 September 2025). "Sitges gets ready to thrill and chill with its 2025 line-up". Cineuropa. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
  20. 1 2 "We Complete the 2025 line-up: Guillermo del Toro, Yorgos Lanthimos, Park Chan-wook, Carmen Maura, and Other Big Names in Contemporary Fantastic Genre". Sitges Film Festival. 10 September 2025. Retrieved 11 September 2025.
  21. ↑ "Reflection in a Dead Diamond". Stockholm International Film Festival. 9 October 2025. Retrieved 31 October 2025.
  22. ↑ "Macabre Deams – 2025". International Film Festival of India. 7 November 2025. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
  23. ↑ "'Reflet dans un diamant mort': un film d'espionnage labyrinthique et visuellement impressionnant" ['Reflection in a Dead Diamond': a labyrinthine and visually stunning spy film] (in French). RTBF. 28 April 2025. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
  24. ↑ "Les distributeurs ajustent leurs line-ups" [Distributors are adjusting their product lines]. Boxoffice Pro (in French). 7 April 2025. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
  25. ↑ Sammarco, Valerio (1 July 2025). "Riflessi, rifrazioni e diffrazioni" [Reflections, refractions, and diffractions]. Cinematografo (in Italian). Retrieved 9 April 2026.
  26. ↑ "Reflection in a Dead Diamond de Hélène Cattet, Bruno Forzani (2024)". Unifrance. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
  27. ↑ "Reflection in a Dead Diamond". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 3 July 2026.
  28. ↑ "Reflection in a Dead Diamond". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc.
  29. ↑ "Reflection in a Dead Diamond". Metacritic. Retrieved 3 July 2026.
  30. ↑ Roxborough, Scott (21 January 2025). "Berlin Film Festival Lineup: Movies from Richard Linklater, Michel Franco, Hong Sang-soo in Competition (Full List)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 21 January 2025.
  31. ↑ Melanson, Angel (2 July 2026). "The Best in Horror: Here Are the 2026 Fangoria Chainsaw Awards Nominees". Fangoria. Retrieved 3 July 2026.
  32. ↑ Lewis, Hilary (1 June 2026). "Gotham TV Awards: 'DTF St. Louis' Takes Two Awards as 'Pluribus', 'I Love LA' Win Key Prizes". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 3 June 2026.
  33. ↑ "Compétition Officielle Archives". Luxembourg City Film Festival. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
  34. ↑ RTBF Culture (6 February 2026). "Voici les nominations aux René du Cinéma 2026" [Here are the nominations for René du Cinéma 2026] (in Spanish). RTBF. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
  35. ↑ Nassogne, Alain (8 March 2026). "René du Cinéma 2026: le palmarès complet, triomphe pour 'On vous croit'" [René du Cinéma 2026: the complete winners, triumph for 'On vous croit'] (in Spanish). RTBF. Retrieved 25 May 2026.
  36. ↑ "'Sinners' Ties Seattle Film Critics Nominations Record with 'One Battle After Another' Close Behind". Seattle Film Critics Society. 5 December 2025. Retrieved 5 December 2025.
  37. ↑ Romero, Miguel Ángel (18 October 2025). "Palmarés de Sitges 2025: el body horror 'La hermanastra fea' gana el premio a la mejor película" [Sitges Awards 2025: The body horror 'The Ugly Stepsister' wins the award for Best Film]. 20 minutos (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 October 2025.