Diva Dolorosa

Diva Dolorosa is an ode to an extinct genre that brought unprecedented popularity to female stars such as Francesca Bertini, Pina Menichelli and Lyda Borelli. In the silent diva films of the 1910s, these actresses explored the extreme boundaries of their expressive possibilities, using as their only instrument their own, seductive bodies. The roles, typical of the fin de siècle era, always present archetypes: the femme fatale, the hysteric and the femme fragile. Their story is tragic and runs from euphoria, extasy, punishment and sorrow to sickness and death.