COSMONAUTA

Italy 2011, 100’, Italian with English and Hebrew subtitles
By Susanna Nicchiarelli
Cinematographer: Gherardo Gossi
Cast: Claudia Pandolfi, Sergio Rubini, Susanna Nicchiarelli, Pietro Del Giudice
World sales: Fandango

In the early sixties Arturo and Luciana, brother and sister and die-hard passionate communists, follow the progress of the space race together, urging on the Soviet cosmonauts.

However as they grow up, the relationship between the two gets a little complicated: Luciana, an aggressive, unconventional adolescent, starts going out with boys and is ashamed of her odd brother, who shows no signs of growing up, possibly because of his epilepsy.

Susanna Nicchiarelli

was born in Rome in 1975 and is an Italian film director and screenwriter. She studied philosophy and earned her doctorate at the elite Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa. She then began studying film at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome, graduating in 2004.

With Nico, 1988 (2017) about the singer Nico, Miss Marx (2020) about Eleanor Marx and Chiara (2022) about Clare of Assisi, Nicchiarelli presented a film trilogy of women’s biographies.

filmography (selection):
2022: Chiara
2020: Miss Marx
2017: Nico, 1988
2014: Per tutta la vita (documentary)

festivals & awards (selection):
– La Biennale di Venezia 2009: Prize, Lanterna Magica Award
– International Women’s Film Festival 2010: International Feature Film Competition – Best Film