OSSIDIANA

Italy, 2007
Director: Silvana Maja
Duration: 94′

“Ossidiana” traces the life, art, and suffering of Maria Palligiano, a painter in the effervescent artistic scene of the 1960s. Her marriage to Emilio Notte and family constraints suffocated her, leading to psychiatric hospitalization. The title alludes to the volcanic glass gifted by Emilio, a symbol of “hardness and fragility,” mirroring Maria’s existence between integration and a yearning for freedom. The film evokes a crucial decade in Italian art, restoring the memory of a woman and artist marked by difficult family relationships and intolerance towards the art market, culminating in isolation. Her diaries inspired the screenplay, with Teresa Saponangelo delivering an intense performance as the protagonist.