(Valerio Ciriaci, Italy/US 2025, 94 min., DCP, Italian with English subtitles)
This documentary traces the story of Italy’s first female director and the long journey that brought her back into view after decades of neglect. A leading figure in the golden age of Neapolitan silent cinema, Elvira Notari created some sixty feature films that, weaving the passions of popular drama with unflinching depictions of urban life, captivated audiences from Naples to the Little Italies of America. With the advent of sound and undermined by Fascist censorship, she withdrew from filmmaking in 1930. Her name faded into silence and much of her work was lost. Today, 150 years after her birth, Elvira Notari returns to the spotlight through the efforts of scholars and artists who are reclaiming her legacy and reimagining it in new forms.
Introduction by Elisabetta Sanino D'Amanda, RIT Italian Studies Program Coordinator