''The Sicilian Girl'' ( it, La siciliana ribelle) is a 2008

Italian film The cinema of Italy (, ) comprises the films made within Italy or by Italian directors. Since its beginning, Italian cinema has influenced film movements worldwide. Italy is one of the birthplaces of art cinema and the stylistic aspect of film h ...

directed by

Marco Amenta Marco Amenta (Palermo, 11 August 1970) is an Italian Film director, director, Film producer, producer, and photojournalist. Biography After attending the Liceo Classico Umberto I in Palermo, Amenta started his career at ''Il Giornale di Sicilia' ...

. The film is inspired by the story of Rita Atria, a key witness in a major

Mafia "Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of d ...

investigation in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

Synopsis

Beginning in 1985 in Balata, Sicily, the eleven-year-old Rita Mancuso witnessed the assassination of her beloved father Don Michele by a rival Mafia family. Six years later, her brother is killed by the Mafia as well. Determined to avenge the murders, she decides to break the

code of silence A code of silence is a condition in effect when a person opts to withhold what is believed to be vital or important information voluntarily or involuntarily. The code of silence is usually followed because of threat of force or danger to onesel ...

and goes to an anti-Mafia prosecutor in

Palermo Palermo ( , ; scn, Palermu , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan ...

with her detailed diaries to be used as evidence. Being forced to flee her village, she is put into

witness protection Witness protection is security provided to a threatened person providing testimonial evidence to the justice system, including defendants and other clients, before, during, and after a trial, usually by police. While a witness may only require p ...

and transferred to a

safe house A safe house (also spelled safehouse) is, in a generic sense, a secret place for sanctuary or suitable to hide people from the law, hostile actors or actions, or from retribution, threats or perceived danger. It may also be a metaphor. Histori ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Reception

For ''The Sicilian Girl'', Amenta received a

David di Donatello The David di Donatello Awards, named after Donatello's ''David'', a symbolic statue of the Italian Renaissance, are film awards given out each year by the ''Accademia del Cinema Italiano'' (The Academy of Italian Cinema). There are 26 award cat ...

nomination for

Best New Director ''Best New Director'' was an award given by the New York Film Critics Circle from its first inception in 1989 until discontinuing in 1996. There was no award in 1993. 1980s 1989 *Kenneth Branagh – ''Henry V (1989 film), Henry V'' **Runners-up: St ...

. According to a ''New York Times'' movie review, the film is hobbled by sluggish direction by Amenta, who previously addressed Atria’s story in his 1997 documentary, ''One Girl Against the Mafia: Diary of a Sicilian Rebel''.Movie Review: ''The Sicilian Girl'' (2009): An Angry Soul From a Hard Island
''The New York Times'', August 3, 2010 Rita Atria's family have condemned the film; Atria's niece, Vita Maria Atria, said that "I don't believe that any of this helps to commemorate my aunt, but only serves economic ends which I really do not consider appropriate."Italy anti-mafia film sparks anger with relatives
Reuters, March 26, 2009

Cast

* Veronica D'Agostino as Rita Mancuso * Miriana Faja as Young Rita * Francesco Casisa as Vito * Carmelo Galati as Rita's brother *

Gérard Jugnot Gérard Jugnot (; born 4 May 1951) is a French actor, film director, screenwriter and film producer. Jugnot was one of the founders of the comedy ''troupe'' Le Splendid in the 1970s, along with, among others, his high-school friends Christian Cl ...

as Prosecutor *

Marcello Mazzarella Marcello Mazzarella (born 18 October 1963) is an Italian actor. He appeared in more than sixty films since 1990. Selected filmography References External links * 1963 births Living people People from Erice Italian male film actors ...

as Don Michele *

Mario Pupella Mario Pupella (10 April 1945 – 22 January 2023) was an Italian actor and stage director. Biography Born in Castelvetrano, Pupella made his professional debut on stage in a rendition of Luigi Pirandello's '' Henry IV''. Mainly active on stage, ...

as Zio Salvo * Primo Reggiani as Lorenzo * Lorenzo Rosone as Young Vito *

Lucia Sardo Lucia Sardo (born 13 December 1952) is an Italian actress. Life and career Born Aurora Sardo in Francofonte, Syracuse, Sardo formed at the Teatro di Ventura under Ferruccio Merisi. She made her film debut in the 1992 Aurelio Grimaldi's drama ...

as Rita's mother

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sicilian Girl, The 2008 films Italian crime drama films 2000s Italian-language films Films set in Rome Films about the Sicilian Mafia Crime films based on actual events Films set in Sicily Films shot in Italy Films with screenplays by Sergio Donati Films about witness protection