16th Italian Film Festival of Minneapolis / St. Paul Presented by The Italian Cultural Center of Minneapolis/St. Paul

Sunday, March 2 at 7:30pm

MIDWEST PREMIERE

ABOUT THE FILM  (All films are presented in Italian with English subtitles)

In the year 1800, at the convent of Sant’Ignazio just outside Venice, a young scullery maid named Teresa harbors musical sensibilities well beyond her years – By at least two centuries. While the orphaned choir girls and orchestra of Sant’Ignazio fill its walls with baroque and neoclassical music of the time, Teresa’s heart is filled with melodies reminiscent of the pop and jazz music of today. Though presciently gifted, she is confined to cleaning, and the other girls snub her as a scullery maid. Perlina, the orchestra’s despotic and cruel conductor, makes matters worse in his ineffectual frenzy to compose new music for Pope Pius VII’s impending visit to Sant’Ignazio.

When a mysterious gift arrives at the convent – a newfangled musical contraption called a pianoforte – it is shut away in a storage room, deemed unfit for holy music, until Teresa stumbles upon it one fateful night. Finally given the chance to properly express her musical gifts, Teresa picks up the piano with astonishing speed. But her experimentations attract the attention of four other girls, who discover her secret. Excited at the possibility of escaping their dreary lives at the orphanage, the girls agree to share the piano with Teresa and secretly create their own compositions for the Pope’s visit, in defiance of Perlina. However, Teresa’s bold musical stylings cause friction among her newfound collaborators, who have never heard anything of the kind before. As baroque and modern styles clash, the girls must find a way through newfound friendships and rivalries to overcome the obstacles and injustices they face, in a world that continually denies women agency. Delightfully anachronistic.

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR

Margherita Vicario is an actress and singer-songwriter who graduated from the European Academy of Dramatic Art. During her studies, she released the EP “Esercizi Preparatori” and her debut album, Minimal Musical. Her B.A. thesis examined popular music in Brecht’s political theater, and she studied the Dalcroze method, a music pedagogy emphasizing body movement.

In 2014, she launched her first concert show, LEM LEM - Free Musical Experiments, while acting in films and TV series directed by Woody Allen, Lamberto Bava, and others. Balancing music and acting, she released her second album, Bingo (2021, Universal), collaborating with artists like Francesco Guccini, Vinicio Capossela, and Elodie. In 2023, she co-wrote music with Anita Rivaroli and Dade and directed her first feature film, “GLORIA!”, and IFF is thrilled to present the Midwest Premiere.

TICKET INFO

Single Movies
$14.00 General Admission (+ $2.00 online fee)
$12.00 ICC and Film Society Members
$5.00 Students (Box Office Only)

Passes:
All-Access Festival Pass (Opening Night included):
$110.00 General Admission (+ $3.25 online fee)
$95.00 ICC and Film Society Members, Students
6-Packs Passes (does not include Opening Night):
$65.00 General Admission (+ $2.00 online fee)
$55.00 ICC and Film Society Members, Students

Passes do not guarantee admission to screenings. To ensure admittance, passholders must reserve a ticket in advance either online or at the venue.