Lù Leone

A young writer is trapped between his awful actress mother and the knowledge that he has only a mediocre talent as a playwright and almost no force of character.

Vannina and Giacinto are a young married couple who live their relationship in an unequal way; while the girl is submissive to the will of her husband Giacinto, he sees in his bride only the personal object of his sexual satisfaction.

The short film is based on an investigation by Dino Buzzati. It tells the story of Melinda, a mountain girl turned into a witch by her environment and circumstances. In September 1965, Buzzati travelled to Abruzzo (near Teramo, at the foot of the Gran Sasso) on behalf of the newspaper Corriere della Sera, seeking stories for his investigative series titled "I misteri d'Italia" (The Mysteries of Italy). There, he gathered the story of Melinda, a real-life woman (who died in 1962 at the age of 93) regarded by the local community as the last true Abruzzese witch. Buzzati described Melinda not as an evil being, but as a woman victimized by fate and superstition. While Buzzati was fascinated by the magical and mysterious aspects of her tale, Lù Leone reinterpreted the same story in 1976 through a political and feminist lens.

A young writer is trapped between his awful actress mother and the knowledge that he has only a mediocre talent as a playwright and almost no force of character.

A young writer is trapped between his awful actress mother and the knowledge that he has only a mediocre talent as a playwright and almost no force of character.

Vannina and Giacinto are a young married couple who live their relationship in an unequal way; while the girl is submissive to the will of her husband Giacinto, he sees in his bride only the personal object of his sexual satisfaction.

Vannina and Giacinto are a young married couple who live their relationship in an unequal way; while the girl is submissive to the will of her husband Giacinto, he sees in his bride only the personal object of his sexual satisfaction.

The short film is based on an investigation by Dino Buzzati. It tells the story of Melinda, a mountain girl turned into a witch by her environment and circumstances. In September 1965, Buzzati travelled to Abruzzo (near Teramo, at the foot of the Gran Sasso) on behalf of the newspaper Corriere della Sera, seeking stories for his investigative series titled "I misteri d'Italia" (The Mysteries of Italy). There, he gathered the story of Melinda, a real-life woman (who died in 1962 at the age of 93) regarded by the local community as the last true Abruzzese witch. Buzzati described Melinda not as an evil being, but as a woman victimized by fate and superstition. While Buzzati was fascinated by the magical and mysterious aspects of her tale, Lù Leone reinterpreted the same story in 1976 through a political and feminist lens.