Lina Wertmüller: Films of Love and Anarchy

The lecture delivered by Italian historian Damiano Garofalo will focus on Lina Wertmüller’s filmmaking career and her legacy. This pioneering Italian female director, renowned for her provocative, politically explicit and stylistically daring films, enriched the genre of traditional Italian comedy with a distinctive blend of satire, social criticism and gender politics, often through the collaboration with actor Giancarlo Giannini. Her films, including The Seduction of Mimi, Love & Anarchy or Seven Beauties, challenged the conventions of 1970s Italian cinema and earned both acclaim and controversy. Lina Wertmüller won global recognition and in 1977 became the first woman in history to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director.