A documentary by Valerio Ciriaci exploring the life and legacy of Elvira Notari, Italy’s first woman film director. The screening will be preceded by a discussion of Notari’s work and lasting influence with Prof. Alice Maurice, Prof. Damien Pollard, Prof. Luca Zamparini, and Dr. Teresa Valentini.
DOCUMENTARY SCREENING
Elvira Notari
Beyond Silence
Screening followed by a Q&A with director Valerio Ciriaci
Sunday, November 15
Panel Discussion | 11:30AM
Screening | 12:30PM
REVUE CINEMA
400 Roncesvalles Ave | Toronto ON
FREE EVENT | REGISTRATION REQUIRED
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER ON EVENTBRITE
Three feature films, two short documentaries, and a handful of fragments are all that remain of the filmography of Elvira Notari, Italy’s first woman film director. But while her life remains largely a mystery—she left behind no letters or diaries, and only a few photographs survive—her work has now become the focus of a renewed interest that is lifting her from obscurity.
A leading figure in the golden age of Neapolitan silent cinema, Elvira 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. Undermined by Fascist censorship and family strife, she withdrew from filmmaking in 1930. Her name slipped into silence, and most of her work was lost. Today, 150 years after her birth, Elvira returns to center stage thanks to the efforts of scholars reclaiming her place in history and artists revisiting her legacy through new forms. Interlacing historical memory with contemporary rediscovery, Elvira Notari: Beyond Silence offers a living, prismatic portrait of a cinematic pioneer whose vision continues to resonate in the present.
In Italian with Ensligh Subtitles.
Organized by ISPLAS and the Cinema Studies Institute at the University of Toronto, with support from the Istituto Italiano di Cultura Toronto, the Munk School and the Jackman Humanities Institute, and in collaboration with the Revue Cinema.