Andrea SannaThe film traces the life of a historic and revolutionary figure in the Italian LGBTQIA civil rights movement
On 6 March, on the eve of International Women’s Day, Geraldine Ottier‘s film “Io non sono nessuno” will be released, tracing the extraordinary and revolutionary life of Mariasilvia Spolato.
A woman who fought for the civil rights of the Italian LGBTQIA community and paid a very high price for her immense courage to be herself in 1970s Italy.
Born in Padua in 1935, Mariasilvia Spolato graduated with honours in mathematics and became a public school teacher. Her life was intertwined with Filippo, a gay man who ran the guesthouse where she stayed, and Valeria, the love of her life, whom she met in the feminist collective Pompeo Magno.
The turning point in her life and in the whole LGBTQIA movement came on 8 March 1972 in Rome, during a demonstration for women’s rights, when Mariasilvia Spolato held up the banner of the Homosexual Liberation Front. It was a revolutionary gesture at the time in Italy, where homosexuality was still considered a crime by society.
But it was a gesture that cost her everything. The Ministry of Education sacked her for being “unworthy”, her family disowned her and even Valeria left her for fear of suffering the same fate as Mariasilvia. So she found herself alone, homeless and wandering around Italian cities until she arrived in Bolzano, where she lived in a centre for the elderly until her death in 2018.
The film, starring Erica Zambelli as Mariasilvia Spolato, is an emotional journey through the most important moments of her life. From her participation in the feminist movement and the founding of the magazine “Fuori!” to her fight for the civil rights of women and the LGBTQIA community, the film explores the courage and resilience of a woman who challenged a patriarchal and homophobic society.
A film not to be missed.
