L’ultima Diva: Francesca Bertini (1982)

Part of the Festival
Drama Queens: When Melodrama Meets Film
March 8-15, 2024
NYU Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò (24 West 12th Street)

Presented by
NYU Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò
NYU Department of Italian Studies

In collaboration with
Cineteca di Bologna

Program curated by
Mila Tenaglia

A festival of rare and restored films from the Cineteca of Bologna featuring Francesca Bertini and Lyda Borelli. If you think early cinema was silent and in black and white, think again! Many of these films were hand-tinted frame by frame, and had original scores by some of the major composers of the time, such as Mascagni and Pizzetti.

Screening
L’ultima Diva: Francesca Bertini
(Italy, 1982, 80 min., documentary)

In ITALIAN with ENGLISH subtitles

Directed by
Gianfranco Mingozzi

Francesca Bertini was – and still is – one of the most arresting, smouldering-eyed presences of Italian cinema. This documentary recounts the life of one of the greatest talents of Italy’s silent film era in a feisty style interspersed with footage from her career.

Introduction to the Festival by Stefano Albertini (NYU) and curator Mila Tenaglia.

Special thanks for making this program possible:
Guy Borlée (Il Cinema Ritrovato), Andrea Meneghelli (Cineteca di Bologna), L’Immagine Ritrovata Laboratory, VIGGO, Eye Filmmuseum