Monday, 23 October at 21:30

Maddalena Cecconi, married to the master builder Spartaco, lives in the working-class district of Prenestino. The couple has just one child, their eight- year-old daughter Maria: the little girl has a pleasant- looking but hardly beautiful face, even though she is bellissima in the eyes of her mother, who dreams of a bright future for her. When the Stella Film company stages a competition in Rome to choose a young girl to play a role in a new movie, Maddalena decides, against the wishes of her husband, to have her daughter enter it, spending time and money in an attempt to get her the part. After meeting a young con man who extracts more money out of her, and after seeing her daughter humiliated at the screen test, Maddalena goes home in tears. When the director, having realized the little girl’s acting ability, sends someone to offer her a lucrative contract, the woman, now disillusioned, drives him away and is reconciled with her husband.

Born in Milan in 1906. In 1942, he completed his debut film Ossessione. Visconti then directed films that contributed to the birth of Italian neorealism. From the 1960s onwards, his film work primarily focused on the world of the upper middle class and the nobility. His films include literary adaptations such as Il Gattopardo and the so-called 'German Trilogy' (La caduta degli dei, Morte a Venezia, Ludwig). Visconti also directed numerous plays and operas. He died in 1976.

Restored by Cineteca Nazionale in collaboration with Compass Film.