Lina Wertmüller has always played by her own rules. Her fascination with disorder, politics, religion and controversy as well as her rebellious nature began at an early age when, as a teenager, she managed to get herself expelled from 15 Catholic schools. Thus, it should come as no surprise that few people – male or female – have stirred up as much controversy as this outspoken and remarkable filmmaker.
After an early career working and writing for radio, television and theater, Wertmüller signed on as Fellini’s assistant on 8 1/2. She left during shooting (taking some of his crew with her!) to make her first film, The Lizards, in 1963, becoming one of the first women in Italy to write and direct a feature. Wertmüller and the already acclaimed young stage actor Giancarlo Giannini first collaborated in 1966, although their friendship began a few years earlier. The pair made eight films, including The Seduction of Mimi, Love & Anarchy and Swept Away, that still stand among the finest director-actor combinations on film. Giannini also starred in her undisputed masterpiece, Seven Beauties, which garnered Wertmüller the distinction of being the first woman to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Director.
Despite varying subject matter, all of Wertmüller’s films burst out at the audience in a mad rush of sex, slapstick, political debate and sputtering obscenity, like a raunchy comic opera played out against the terrible history of the 20th century, making her one of the most distinct voices of world cinema.
Films presented with the support of Genoma Films
20 OCTOBER, 2019, 7.30 PM
Aero Theater, Santa Monica
Double Feature! The Seduction of Mimi and Love & Anarchy
More info and tickets at www.bit.ly/2oE3UVT
25 OCTOBER, 2019, 7.30 PM – Director Lina Wertmüller in person!
Aero Theater, Santa Monica
Double Feature! Seven Beauties and Swept Away by an Unusual Destiny in the Blue Sea of August
More info and tickets at www.bit.ly/2BgKN6L
The films will be screened in Italian with English subtitles.