The International Vilnius Documentary Film Festival (VDFF) invites you to Italy, seen through the eyes of Cecilia Mangini (1927–2021), the pioneer of female documentaries in this country. The creator's films, made between 1960 and 1974, were included in 3 short film programs.
"What we see in these films can be called the archeology of the Italian national character," comments Ona Kotryna Dikavičiūtė, who compiled the retrospective program, on C. Mangini's work.
C. Mangini is considered the first female documentary film director in Italy and is still an important part of the country's film culture. 5th century XNUMX Dec. when she started writing, C. Mangini was concerned with several thematic fields: the modernization of cities, the society changed by industrialization and the status of women in it; pure and unpolished childhood experience; the poor isolated communities of the Apulian region and their daily lives steeped in archaic rituals.
For many years, C. Mangini's films were censored by a specific Italian system that controlled the activities of documentary filmmakers. Finally, on Dec. 8 in the beginning, the funding for her films completely stopped, which led to a long creative hiatus that lasted until 2013.
At different stages of his work, C. Mangini collaborated with various other famous artists. 1958-1972 created with longtime friends and colleagues writer and (later) director Pier Paolo Pasolini, composer Egisto Macchi and director Lino Del Fra. Returning after a creative break - at the age of 86 - C. Mangini filmed together with directors Mariangela Barbanente and Paolo Pisanelli.
C. Mangini's retrospective presented at the festival consists of three short film programs. For the first program, the early works of the artist herself, her husband Lino Del Fro and Gianfranco Mingozzi have been selected. They record the everyday life of ordinary people in southern Italy, imbued with mythical thinking and rituals that accompanied the most important events in life: marriage, work, illness and death.
In the second program of the retrospective, C. Mangini turns the camera to Italian people who do not belong to the power structures: women, children and young people who live in poverty but dream of a better future. The empathetic and energetic films of the creator question gender roles, the existence of freedom of choice and the authorities imposed by society.
In the third program, Mangini's anthropological gaze turns to Italian cities and their inhabitants. "In beautifully filmed, fast-paced films, the director raises questions about the consumer culture of the city, class differences and reveals herself as a true master of short subway documentary", OK Dikavičiūtė, the VDFF program coordinator, adds highlights of the program.
19-axis VDFF will be held only in cinemas: September 22- October 2 – in Vilnius, September 28-30. Beautiful, September 26 d. - In Alytus.
