The screenings for the Florence edition of Another Story is organized by Festival dei Popoli in collaboration with the Master’s Degree Program in Performing Arts (Scienze dello Spettacolo) – SAGAS Department – University of Florence.
Course: Cinema and Visual Culture; Instructor: Prof. Anna Masecchia.
Being Women
by Cecilia Mangini (Italy | 1965 | 28 min)
The film was commissioned from a young Cecilia Mangini by the Unione Donne in Italia (UDI). The film portrays the living and working conditions of Italian women through a vibrant, strong cinematic language that uses the camera as a tool for analyzing the world and struggling for emancipation. With the precision of an essay and the perspective of political commitment, the documentary examines the situation of women in northern and southern Italy, depicting the harshness of factory work and the burden of reproductive labor — in contrast with the sanitized, idealized image of women promoted by the media of the time. An inquiry into the alienation of working women, Mangini's images are accompanied by a text by Felice Chilanti, narrated by Riccardo Cucciolla. Never released in Italian cinemas due to a ministerial decision, despite its success at international festivals, the film was primarily shown in film clubs and circles of the Italian Communist Party.
SCUM Manifesto
by Delphine Seyrig, Carole Roussopoulos (France | 26 min | 1976)
In 1967, American writer Valerie Solanas published the SCUM Manifesto - a radical call for the extermination of the male sex. The text is raw, explicit, and laced with irony, turning patriarchy on its head like a surreal parade. It delivers a direct assault on sexual binarism, traditional family values, and the cultural mainstream. Solanas herself later described SCUM as a satirical literary technique meant to provoke and spark debate. In 1976, Delphine Seyrig and Carole Roussopoulos - members of the feminist film collective Les Insoumuses - adapted the SCUM Manifesto for the screen. Seyrig interprets excerpts from Solanas’ pamphlet while Roussopoulos listens, speaks, and types. Between them, a television screen broadcasts images of contemporary political and humanitarian disasters, offering a stark context for Solanas’ rage. In this minimalist cinematic setting, the duo’s subtly cheeky demeanor underscores the text’s satirical edge.
September 29th - ore 1 pm
Scuola di Studi Umanistici e della Formazione
Via Laura, 48 Firenze - Aula 107
Free entrance
The Ceiling (Strop)
by Věra Chytilová (Czech Republic | 1961 | 60 min)
A medium-length 1962 student graduation film made during Věra Chytilová’s time studying film directing at Prague’s FAMU academy. It sees Chytilová return to the familiar world of modelling, having herself briefly worked in this profession. The protagonist of the story is Marta, who works as a mannequin and appears to be contented. But a chance meeting with a former medical student colleague – Marta having dropped out of the course – exposes a figurative “ceiling” which boxes in the young woman’s comfortable and successful existence. To a certain extent, the character of Marta mirrors the reality of the woman portraying her, a non professional actress Marta Kaňkovská. But the story is chiefly a fictional one, and its primary focus is Chytilová’s favourite theme, namely emancipation. For many of the female characters in Chytilová’s films battle, often in vain, to extricate themselves from an existential stereotype. This documentary-style film also features a number of future celebrities of the Czechoslovak New Wave film scene, including fellow FAMU students Jiří Menzel and Miloš Forman. (Source: DAFilms)
October 6th, h 1 pm
Scuola di Studi Umanistici e della Formazione
Via Laura, 48 Firenze - Aula 107
Free entrance
The Woman's Greatest Value Is Her Silence
by Gertrud Pinkus (Germany, Switzerland | 1980 | 90 min)
The Woman's Greatest Value Is Her Silence
Maria, a young migrant from southern Italy, reflects on her life in Frankfurt alongside Giacomo, whom she married against her parents’ wishes. In keeping with the code of silence of her home region, her story is interpreted on camera by other immigrant protagonists. What began as a documentary portrait evolves into a hybrid work that is ambiguous and humorous, blending reality and fiction, as well as minor and major histories. Through reenactments that merge Maria’s life with the experiences of those portraying her, the film explores themes of uprooting, integration, and resignation. Observational sequences intertwine with subtly staged scenes that evoke Maria’s inner world.
October 13rd - ore 1 pm
Scuola di Studi Umanistici e della Formazione
Via Laura, 48 Firenze - Aula 107
Free entrance
The project has received support from the Creative Europe – MEDIA Programme – Audience Development and Film Education.
The project partners:
In collaboration with:
Partner Florence's edition:
