Cinema, Francesca Bertini's biography 'The Last Diva' in Venice
Flaminia Marinaro will present the book at the Film Festival alongside Maite Bulgari and Pietro Maccarinelli. The book retraces his life with the intensity and brevity of a silent film and aims to introduce a star who changed the history of cinema in the early twentieth century
“Francesca Bertini was one of those myths, now almost forgotten by the general public. Her viewers are no longer there – said the author – This book, retracing her life with the intensity and brevity of a silent film, aims to introduce a star who changed the history of cinema in the early twentieth century. An artist, a woman in her own way modern and revolutionary, strong and strong-willed. From childhood to theater, from the first films to friendship with Salvatore Di Giacomo – recalled Flaminia Marinaro – to his loves and his extravagances. To excite today’s readers with a story from yesterday “.
Meetings with Salvatore Di Giacomo, Guglielmo Marconi, Colette, Eduardo Scarpetta
The book is the story of his life, the adolescent years in Naples, Eduardo Scarpetta, the stage, cinema, love, war. The great meetings, such as those with Salvatore Di Giacomo, Guglielmo Marconi, Colette. “The narration starts in 1907 when Francesca, still Elena Saracini, in Naples with her parents, meets Maria Scarpetta, daughter of the great Eduardo – the author recalled – It is the turning point and his life is destined to change “.
Each chapter, introduced by a historical curiosity, indicates precise moments in the life of the protagonist who is projected from the theater towards the new art of cinema. The meetings with the producers, the rivalries with the other actresses, the overwhelming loves and the devastating passions of her up to the meeting with the one who will become her husband and who will also mark her withdrawal from the scenes of her. Diva of silent cinema, Francesca Bertini (the term was born with her), but also an incandescent star that the big screen brought to the pinnacle of fame, only to sink inexorably, with the sound, into oblivion.
Family friend of the actress, the author had access to unpublished sources and testimonies
“There is no shortage of family paintings – continued Flaminia Marinaro – the presence of her mother and then that of Rosina, the trusted housekeeper, fundamental in her life and in the narration. In the background Giolitti Italy of the Belle Epoque, the brilliant and painful atmospheres of a period full of ideals. Many themes were addressed through her psychology, jealousy, competition, split motherhood, betrayal, loneliness “.
The historical part and that filmography are the result of precise research, also based on personal stories and memories (the great diva was a family friend of the author and Flaminia Marinaro had the opportunity to access unpublished and unknown materials, but above all to meet and interview personalities from the entertainment world, and not only, who have known and frequented her), the novel takes over, however, in the reconstruction of everyday life. From Naples to Rome, Paris, Venice, Madrid, with the backdrop of an ever-changing era, the Belle Epoque, the Great War, up to the present day. The personal growth of a woman who changed the history of cinema.
