A Daughter’s Love of her Father in The Sicilian Girl

I went to a veryspecial presentation  at the ItalianCultural Institute  in Westwood of thisvery touching film which was based on the  real life of  RitaMancuso (Veronica D’Agostino) and director Marco Amenta’s documentary , “One Girl Against theMafia: Diary of a Sicilian Rebel”. Being a dad myself I could feelthe inner conflict that this young girl would suffer when she loses her dad andalso has to face the reality of who he really was. Dads love their daughtersand always want to protect them and treat them in a special way which comesstraight from their heart no matter what their real occupation is and therewill be secrets. Having lived in Italyand seeing how close families are, I was taken in by the intricacies of thisfilm. I felt that I was peeking inside and seeing the daily lives of townsfolkwhich evolved into a drama and loss. You are placed into this situation which thisyoung girl endures and then seeing how courageous she is when she faces theopposition of her mother and the Mafia.

Veronica D’Agostino isstunning in her portrayal and moves you to tears and you fear for her ownsafety even though you know that it will not be a Hollywoodending. Director Marco Amenta is from Palermo, Sicilyso he has the vision and knowledge that only an insider knows and you can feelit as you watch his film. The prosecutor from Palermo (Gérard Jugnot) who also is the father of a daughterthe same age as Rita shows the tenderness and understanding as his characterbut knows from inside the dangers she must face when her testimony based on herdiaries and photographs which will lead to the convictions of a large number ofMafia members.

Directed by Marco Amenta;written by Mr. Amenta, Sergio Donati and Gianni Romoli; director ofphotography, Luca Bigazzi; edited by Mirco Garrone; music by Pasquale Catalano;production designer, Marcello Di Carlo; costumes by Cristina Francioni;produced by Simonetta Amenta, Tilde Corsi, Gianni Romoli, Raphael Berdugo andMr. Amenta; released by Music Box Films. : Veronica D’Agostino (Rita Mancuso),Gérard Jugnot (Prosecutor), Marcello Mazzarella (Don Michele Mancuso), LuciaSardo (Rosa Mancuso), Mario Pupella (Don Salvo Rimi), Miriana Faja (youngRita), Primo Reggiani (Lorenzo) and Francesco Casisa (Vito).

I highly recommend this film

Film opens at the Nuartetheatre on September 10 and the director will be present for a Q&A onSeptember 10 and 11