After a scorching summer, Clonakilty Film Club invites us to cosy autumn nights indoors with a carefully chosen selection from the best that world cinema offers. The club opens its autumn season on Tuesday September 22 with ‘Primavera’, an astounding feature debut by acclaimed opera director Damiano Michieletto. ‘Primavera’ is a fictionalised account of Antonio Vivaldi’s time as resident composer and violin teacher at the Ospedale della Pietà in Venice, where he composed most of his major works, told from the perspective of one of his most talented female students.
18th Century, Venice: The Ospedale della Pietà is a refuge for orphaned and abandoned children. Here, girls study music, and the most talented among them are placed in a special orchestra renowned as one of the best in the world. This orchestra performs for Venetian high society and wealthy patrons of the orphanage. While their showcases raise money for the orphanage, they also help secure marriage proposals for the women.
Among this orchestra is 20-year-old Cecilia, an extraordinary violinist betrothed to a wealthy soldier upon his return from battle abroad. Though music has opened her mind, the doors of the orphanage remain closed until she is married. Her world is disrupted when a wind of spring awakens something within her: the arrival of a new teacher, composer, and maestro di violino, Antonio Vivaldi. His mentorship forever changes her, allowing her to envision a different future and embrace her art.
Michieletto’s film is an exceptional example of centreing a woman’s story in a historically patriarchal society, modernising a tale never previously told.
All are welcome. The film starts at 8.30pm (doors open at 8.20pm). Admission €10, cash at the door.
Clonakilty Film Club will screen its second film of the season on October 6. The full Autumn line-up will appear in the October issue of West Cork People. You can also follow Clonakilty Film Club on Facebook for updates.
