Calendar - Department of French and Italian

Apr 10, 2026: 2026 Italian Film Festival - Elvira Notari: Oltre Il Silenzio at Frick Fine Arts Building

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 19:00:00 -0400

PLOT:Just three feature films, two short documentaries, and a few fragments: this is all that remains of the filmography of Elvira Notari, the first Italian female film director. While her life remains partly an enigma – she left no letters or diaries, and few photographs of her exist – today, 150 years after her birth, her work is at the center of renewed interest. A protagonist of the golden age of Neapolitan silent cinema, Elvira made over 60 films that, intertwining popular culture and an authentic view of city life, captivated audiences from Naples to the Little Italies of the United States. With the advent of sound, and affected by fascist censorship, she abandoned filmmaking in 1930, and her work fell into silence. Today, Elvira returns to the spotlight thanks to the work of scholars and artists who are recovering her legacy and reinterpreting it through the creation of new works. Intertwining historical memory and contemporary rediscovery, Elvira Notari: Beyond the Silence offers a vibrant and nuanced portrait of a film pioneer whose work resonates again in the present.

CAST:Eduardo Notari, Teresa Saponangelo, Flavia Amabile, Giuliana Bruno, Francesca Consonni, Cristina Vatielli

YEAR:2025

LENGTH:94 min.

AWARD:• Nominated Best Documentary on Cinema: Venice Film Festival

GENRE:Documentary

RATING:USA: no rating

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Apr 11, 2026: 2026 Italian Film Festival - La Vita Va Così at Frick Fine Arts Building

Sat, 11 Apr 2026 19:00:00 -0400

PLOT:Two worlds collide on an unspoiled stretch of coastline in southern Sardinia. Efisio Mulas is a solitary shepherd, the silent guardian of a time that seems to no longer exist. He has lived there forever, between the sea and his animals, in the small house where he was born. On the other side is Giacomo, president of a powerful real estate group, a symbol of an Italy striving towards the future. He is determined to transform that coast into a luxury resort. When Efisio refuses yet another multi-million dollar offer, the negotiation turns into a legal battle in which Giovanna, a judge born and raised in the area, is called upon to resolve the conflict.

As the pressure mounts and the community is divided between those who dream of new job opportunities and those who fear losing their identity forever, Efisio's unwavering "no" takes on a collective meaning. Strong in the value of his choices and the memory of those who came before him, Efisio knows that sometimes, precisely because "that's how life is," you have to stop and decide for yourself where to go.

CAST:Virginia Raffaele, Diego Abatantuono, Aldo Baglio, Ignazio Giuseppe Loi, Geppi Cucciari

YEAR:2025

LENGTH:118 min.

GENRE:Comedy

AWARDS:

RATING:USA: no rating

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Apr 15, 2026: Phillip Watts Memorial Lecture 2026-When the Body Speaks Back: On Naked Agency and the Limits of Power at William Pitt Union

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 13:30:00 -0400

Naminata Diabate is an Associate Professor of Comparative Literature at Cornell University. She is a scholar of trans-African and black diaspora studies . Her monograph, Naked Agency: Genital Cursing and Biopolitics in Africa (Duke 2020), invites theoretical and conceptional reflection on how protest nudity functions as a locus of contestation and subjugation. The book was awarded the African Studies Association (ASA) 2021 Best Book Prize and the African Literature Association (ALA) 2022 First Book Award.

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Apr 16, 2026: La Parlotte- Speak French at Pitt at Wesley W. Posvar Hall

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 16:00:00 -0400

All levels welcome!

Idea for: DELF preparation, study abroad, trip to french-speaking countries, and language lovers!

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Apr 23, 2026: La Parlotte- Speak French at Pitt at Wesley W. Posvar Hall

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 16:00:00 -0400

All levels welcome!

Idea for: DELF preparation, study abroad, trip to french-speaking countries, and language lovers!

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