Fuori

Goliarda Sapienza (1924–1996) had a rollercoaster life reminiscent of 17th-century Italian artists only recognised posthumously. Mario Martone returns with a spirited retelling of this idiosyncratic author in 1980s Rome, profoundly influenced by women she met during her time in prison.

Rejected by publishers during her lifetime, Italian actor and author Goliarda Sapienza only rose to prominence when her husband published her provocative literary masterwork, The Art of Joy, posthumously. Her unconventional life is still shrouded in a pinch of legend, something that Mario Martone uses to colour his portrait of Sapienza in Fuori, the Naples-born filmmaker’s latest effort. After gracing Rotterdam most recently with The King of Laughter (IFFR 2022) and Nostalgia (IFFR 2023), Martone turns his lens on 1980s Rome, the time during and following Sapienza’s brief detainment in Rebibbia prison, based on the author’s memoir about her five days there.

The close connections she made went on to deeply shape the author and the perception of her world forever. Fuori, meaning “outside” in Italian, gestures vividly to the boundary between prison and the external world of which Sapienza becomes increasingly aware. Iconic Italian thespian Valeria Golino plays the author with a dual zest for life and desperation, held afloat by the strength of sisterhood, friendship and love that propel her forward.

– Olivia Popp

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