From the silent era to today, women of Italian origin have stepped behind the camera to tell their stories. We've partnered with Directed By Women to keep those stories alive by featuring women who gave and continue to give voice to the female experience through cinema.

She studies cinema and television production at the Accademia Delle Belle Arti Di Napoli but even before enrolling, she was well on her way to becoming a gifted storyteller and filmmaker. 

Born in Naples in 1996, Angela Bevilacqua knew early on that she had a passion for cinema and she didn’t waste any time exploring it. She made her first short film when she was just 17-years-old.

Il teatro dei ricordi (The Theater of Memories) stars Alessia Alciati and veteran French actor Jean Sorel who is known for his role opposite Claudia Cardinale in Luchino Visconti's 1965 Sandra. An ambitious first effort, the film premiered as a Special Event at the 2014 Giffoni Film Festival.

Il teatro dei ricordi is an enigmatic tale of a tormented woman looking for a temporary escape. The film opens in a dense forest as a young woman is walking around looking dazed and confused. She starts to run as if in a panic while a violin resounds. Shortly thereafter, she finds herself in an theater with the great Jean Sorel who introduces himself simply as the guardian. A series of flashbacks follow, which reveal the problems from which the young woman is trying to escape. Just when the film seems to be ending, the story takes an unexpected turn, making a shocking revelation.

Three years later, Bevilacqua published her first novel La Città del Vizio (The City of Vice), a thriller that explores a personification of the Seven Deadly Sins as they are misguided by the Devil to a supposed place of material and spiritual delight called, "The City of Vice.” But the city itself hides a secret that each and every resident finds out sooner or later. The book is similar to her debut film in that it deals with human nature and overcoming obstacles but with an eerie quality that sets the stage for a surreal atmosphere.