The Disappearance of My Mother

Artists and photographers such as Warhol, Dali, Penn and Avedon chose her as their muse. Despite this, or perhaps because of it, she stood up for women's rights and saw herself as a feminist. Her son Beniamino knows little about her past. She never told him about her career and he came across relics of that former life only by chance. His fascination with his strong, independent, and stubborn mother further fueled these discoveries. The fact that her son now wants to make a film about her triggers an unexpected collaboration between the two and, at the same time, confrontations in front of the camera. "An alternately tender and tempestuous doc... His obsession and her resistance intertwine, sometimes gently, sometimes explosively. This is a tumultuous muse story in which the artist and his inspiration just happen to be blood relations." (The Hollywood Reporter)

Keywords

  • Doing Gender
  • Gender
  • Italian Movies
  • missingFILMs
  • fashion
  • women

Actors

  • Benedetta Barzini
  • Beniamino Barrese
  • Carlotta Antonelli
  • Michela De Rossi
  • Martina De Santis

Director

  • Beniamino Barrese

Documentary, Independent


1h 34min


16+

IT


DE

Italy
2019
Benedetta Barzini was a sought-after model in the 1960s and a radical feminist in the 1970s. At 75, she had put her former life and career behind her.

Benedetta Barzini was a sought-after model in the 1960s and a radical feminist in the 1970s. At 75, she had put her former life and career behind her.


Artists and photographers such as Warhol, Dali, Penn and Avedon chose her as their muse. Despite this, or perhaps because of it, she stood up for women's rights and saw herself as a feminist. Her son Beniamino knows little about her past. She never told him about her career and he came across relics of that former life only by chance. His fascination with his strong, independent, and stubborn mother further fueled these discoveries.


The fact that her son now wants to make a film about her triggers an unexpected collaboration between the two and, at the same time, confrontations in front of the camera.


"An alternately tender and tempestuous doc... His obsession and her resistance intertwine, sometimes gently, sometimes explosively. This is a tumultuous muse story in which the artist and his inspiration just happen to be blood relations." (The Hollywood Reporter)

Festivals

Cast & Crew