Visually striking film We Want Roses Too explores the changes brought about by the sexual revolution and the feminist movement in Italy in the 1960s and 1970s. Acclaimed director Alina Marazzi takes viewers on a narrative journey that weaves together archival footage, advertisements, and colourful images with the personal stories of three women: Anita, who struggles with an authoritarian father and the rigid rules of the Catholic faith; Teresa, who faces the painful experience of an illegal abortion; and Valentina, a militant feminist torn between love and her commitment to the movement. Marazzi’s film is a tribute to women’s struggle for a more equitable world, where fundamental life needs are valued alongside freedom, dignity, and beauty.
A conversation with literary critic Serena Todesco will follow the screening
Serena Todesco was born in Messina, and currently lives and works in Zagreb. She translates literary and technical texts between Italian, English, French, and Croatian. As a literary critic, she focuses on contemporary Italian prose, particularly women’s writing, exploring themes of identity, female (self-)subjectivity, and the cultural complexities of Southern Italy. She has participated in numerous international conferences, led seminars on Sicilian and Southern Italian women writers, and published widely on authors who engage with Southern Italy and/or motherhood, including Elena Ferrante, Michela Murgia, Anna Maria Ortese, Maria Rosa Cutrufelli, Nadia Terranova, Maria Attanasio, Giuliana Saladino, Maria Occhipinti, Viola Di Grado, and Slavenka Drakulić. She is the author of two monographs: Tracce a margine (Pungitopo, 2017) and Campo a due (Giulio Perrone Editore, 2021).
The conversation will be moderated by Tihana Puc (curator at the Zagreb City Museum).
The film is presented in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute in Zagreb.