Ravenna Festival: È piccerella (1922)

Ravenna Festival: È piccerella (1922) invites you into the restless heart of 1920s Naples, where Elvira Notari’s visionary direction and script breathe life into a timeless love song by Libero Bovio. With Maurilio Cacciatore delivering a striking mix of live electronics and classical orchestration, the film’s score relentlessly underscores the drama of a young man, Tore (Alberto Danza), entangled in a feverish romance with the scheming Margaretella (Rosé Angione). The plot spirals from obsession, lavish spending, and fickle affection into tragic ruin, echoing the bleak, working‑class world of the bassi and scugnizzi that dominated the streets of Naples. Cinematography by Nicola Notari and a joint edit by Elvira and Nicola Notari capture every raw, emotive moment, while the cast – Eduardo Notari as Gennariello, Elisa Cava as Maria Mother of Tore and Gennariello, Signora Duval as A ziè Rosa, and Antonio Palmieri as Carluccio – delivers unforgettable performances. Produced by Dora Film, this piece stands as a pioneering work by one of cinema’s first female auteurs, prefiguring Neorealism and the sceneggiata, and offering an intense, vividly layered musical score that merges the old and the new in a stunning, spontaneous concert experience.