BELLISSIME
by Giovanna Gagliardo, Documentary, 62', 2004, Beta SP, ITALY

Bellisime shows, in five parts, the progress made by Italian women during the last century. Only the second part: Pénélope s’en va-t-en guerre is shown here. Historical footage from the archives, extracts from films, and a few interviews constitute the material that narrates this feminine adventure, during World War II. What these women from the Resistance have to say, helps us understand how this War forced women to make courageous subjective choices.

GIOVANNA GAGLIARDO
Giovanna Gagliardo was born in 1943 in Monticello d’Alba (Italia). For many years she wrote for the newspapers Il Giorno and Il Messaggero. Then, in the 1980s, she began writing for the cultural pages of La Republica and the weekly L’Espresso. For the cinema, she is co-author of the screenplay Lattuada’s L’Amica, and assistant director for Miklos Jancsò. Her first feature-length film was Maternale (1978) showing in Sceaux (1979) for the first Women Films Festival. She made several documentaries, and two others faetures: Via degli specchi (1982) and Caldo soffocante (1990).