| Title |
Fistful of Flies |
| Copyright Title |
Fistful of Flies
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| Released |
1997 |
| Production Year |
1996 |
| Director |
Monica Pellizzari
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| Comments |
The first feature film from Italo-Australian director Monica Pellizzari explores similar themes to those present in her previous short films - teenage angst and dysfunctional families.
AWARDS WON:
1996 STOCKHOLM INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL . . . Best First Feature Film, Best Cinematography, Best Directional Debut.
1996 GIJON INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL . . . Young Jury Prize for Best Film.
1996 VENICE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL . . . Elvira Notari Award for Enhancing the Image of Women in Film.
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| Synopsis |
Set in Cider Gully, rural Australia, sixteen year-old Mars (Tasma Walton) is trapped in a household ruled by a violent, philandering father who keeps both Mars and her repressed mother Grace (played by Dina Panozzo) under his thumb. Mars' grandmother Nonna (Anna Volska) is wise but estranged from the family, residing at the other end of town with a female friend.
Mars' parents are determined that she follow the traditional path of marriage and children; however, Mars herself longs for an education and a career as a lawyer.
Traditionally, it is believed that if you follow your own path in this culture you will end up with "un pugno di mosche," or, a "fistful of flies" - a fistful of nothing.
Mars is a lonely girl obsessed with her body and burgeoning sexuality. As tensions escalate within her family, she challenges her father's abusive authority in a dramatic confrontation that brings all three generations of women (Mars, her mother and grandmother) together.
Says Pellizzari:
"I wanted to set up the notion that violence is carried on through generations, but that maybe there is hope for the next generation brought about by the act of rage by Mars."
Indeed, one can see the gradual disintegration of Italian tradition within the three generations of women in Fistful of Flies. Nonna is rooted in the traditions of old Italian culture; Grace, the mother, is caught in a confused state of limbo between two cultures; while Mars, an Italian-Australian girl growing up in a stifling country town, is the tool that eventually liberates her mother from her father's harsh domination.
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References ( click to view )
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| journal - Bi-Cultural Visions: The Films of Monica Pellizzari Cinema Papers 117. pp.22-25 |
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Mary Colbert
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| One of the few lengthy interviews with Monica Pellizzari, in which she reveals growing up in the western suburb of Fairfield and her quest to become a respec...[full record]
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| journal - Fistful of Flies Variety. 11-11-1996. p.62 |
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David Stratton
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| In his review, Stratton clearly appears bemused and bewildered at what "Fistful of Flies" is trying to offer, saying that the lead character of Mars (played ...[full record]
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Close References
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