Last night the documentary When the World Answered: Florence, Women Artists and the 1966 Flood made its world premiere at the packed Odeon Cinehall. The film is based on the 2014 book by Jane Fortune and Linda Falcone of the Advancing Women Artists Foundation, published by The Florentine Press. Just minutes before the scheduled start time of 6.30pm, tickets sold out and not an empty seat was to be found in the auditorium.
The evening began with opening remarks from the authors and government representatives including Eugenio Giani, president of the Tuscan Region; Sara Funaro, welfare and equality superintendent; and Abigail Rupp, Consul General of the United States in Florence. Kathryn Rakich, program assistant at the United States Consulate in Florence, served as master of ceremonies.
Before the film aired, audience members got a brief look back at Invisible Women, Fortune’s and Falcone’s film debut, which earned an Emmy Award for Best Documentary in 2013. Once the premiere began, all focus shifted to the devastating 1966 flood of the Arno River. The film spotlights those who witnessed and immortalized the flood with their images, including Russian photographer Nicholas Kraczyna, who still lives and works in Florence, and filmmaker Franco Zeffirelli. It honors the the aptly-named ‘Mud Angels’ who came to Florence from all corners of the world in the wake of the flood’s destruction. The film’s key focus, however, is on the ‘flood ladies’ themselves—those heretofore unrecognized women artists who donated their works to the city after over 14,000 masterpieces were destroyed. Several of these women are still alive and at work today, and multiple scenes in When the World Answered show Fortune and Falcone visiting them, learning more about their work as artists and listening to their motivations for giving back after the flood.
A question and answer session with Fortune and Falcone followed the screening. The range of questions and participants reflected the diversity of the film audience: visitors to Florence, born-and-bred Florentines, members of the international community, and longtime residents who witnessed the flood and its aftermath (including some ‘flood ladies’ and their families). Several audience members expressed their desire to contribute to AWA’s restorations and efforts to recognize women artists, and were directed to ‘stay tuned’ for the organization’s initiatives in 2016, when Florence will mark the flood’s fiftieth anniversary. The Q&A session concluded with particularly poignant thanks to AWA from Antonina Bargellini, daughter of then-mayor Piero Bargellini, who issued Florence’s call for artworks after the flood. The Florentine‘s director Marco Badiani then made brief closing remarks, praising AWA’s ‘tireless quest’ to give back to Florence.
When the World Answered will make its American debut in Indianapolis, Indiana in November. To stay up to date on AWA’s projects and restorations, consult their website or sign up for their newsletter by emailing info@advancingwomenartists.org. For more information on Fortune’s and Falcone’s books, DVDs and publications, visit The Florentine Press website.
