“Heavenly Body” by Alice Rohrwacher

Film screening and discussion | Free with registration.

Having recently returned to her native Italy after living in Switzerland for 10 years, quiet but curious 13-year-old Marta’s only source of socialization is the local church, where she is told to attend preparatory classes for her confirmation. But the doctrines of Roman Catholicism offer little in terms of life lessons or consolation, and she quickly sees through the hypocrisy of the priest, who cares more about status than about his constituents. Eventually, Marta forges her very own way in this subtle coming-of-age film about faith and finding oneself.

Genre: Drama
Year: 2011
Country: Italy
Duration: 100′
Language: Italian with English subtitles

The screening will be introduced by prof. Massimiliano Luca Delfino, Assistant Professor of Instruction in Italian, of the Department of French and Italian at Northwestern University. His research focuses on post-World War II Italian political cinema and literature. At the end of the film, there will be a Q&A with the audience.

Celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Chicago International Film Festival, the Italian Cultural Institute of Chicago presents the retrospective ITALIAN WOMEN DIRECT, featuring a selection of films by Italian women directors that have been presented at the Festival through the past 60 years. With a weekly free screening, the Institute invites the audience to rediscover the history of Chicago’s longest running film festival, while learning how Italian women helped shape contemporary cinema, and contribute to ongoing discourses on representation in the film industry. Each title represents diverse themes, styles and narratives that all together provide a snapshot of the evolution of Italian cinema over more than half a century.