Sofia Costanza Brigida Villani Scicolone, known professionally as Sophia Loren, is an Italian actress, active in her native country and the United States. With a career spanning over 70 years, she is the last surviving star from the Golden Age of Hollywood cinema.
The Best of Youth is a 2003 Italian historial romantic drama film directed by Marco Tullio Giordana and written by Sandro Petraglia and Stefano Rulli. A family saga set in Italy from 1966 through 2003, it chronicles the life of the middle-class Carati family, focusing primarily on brothers Nicola and Matteo as their life paths separate during youth, encompassing major political and social events in post–World War II Italian history.
Italian for Beginners is a 2000 Danish romantic comedy film written and directed by Lone Scherfig, and starring Anders W. Berthelsen, Lars Kaalund and Peter Gantzler, together with Ann Eleonora Jørgensen, Anette Støvelbæk and Sara Indrio Jensen. The film was made by the austere principles of the Dogme 95 movement, including the use of handheld video cameras and natural lighting, and is known as Dogme XII. However, in contrast to most Dogme films which are harsh and serious in tone, Italian for Beginners is a light-hearted comedy. It was made on a $600,000 budget, and went on to gross over 27 times that.
Maria Sophie Amalie, Duchess in Bavaria was the last Queen of the Two Sicilies as the wife of Francis II of the Two Sicilies. She was one of the ten children of Maximilian Joseph, Duke in Bavaria and Princess Ludovika of Bavaria. She was born as Duchess Maria Sophia in Bavaria. She was the younger sister of the better-known Elisabeth of Bavaria ("Sisi") who married Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria.
Assunta Tiotangco Schiavone-Ledesma, better known by her stage name Assunta de Rossi, is a Filipino actress. Her sister Alessandra De Rossi is also an actress. Both sisters have won the Best Actress award at the Metro Manila Film Festival.
Giulia Farnese was an Italian noblewoman, a mistress to Pope Alexander VI, and the sister of Pope Paul III. Known as Giulia la bella, she was a member of the noble Farnese family, who were prominent leaders in the Italian regions of Parma and Piacenza. After marrying into the noble Orsini family in the Papal States, Farnese soon acquainted herself with, and initiated an affair with, the Spanish Cardinal Rodrigo de Borja. When the cardinal was elected Pope, Farnese continued the increasingly advantageous liaison, which enabled her to have her brother Alessandro made a cardinal, until losing Alexander's favor at the turn of the century.
San Vito al Tagliamento is a comune (municipality) in the Regional decentralization entity of Pordenone, in the Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about 80 kilometres (50 mi) northwest of Trieste and about 20 kilometres (12 mi) southeast of Pordenone.
Love Songs is a 2007 French musical film directed by Christophe Honoré, starring Louis Garrel, Ludivine Sagnier, Clotilde Hesme and Chiara Mastroianni. It was one of the 20 films selected for the main competition at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival.
Lotte Verbeek is a Dutch actress, dancer and model. She is known for her role as Giulia Farnese in The Borgias television series created by Neil Jordan, and as Geillis Duncan in the Starz series Outlander.
Between Strangers is a 2002 film written and directed by Edoardo Ponti. It stars an ensemble cast including Sophia Loren, Mira Sorvino, Deborah Kara Unger, Pete Postlethwaite, Klaus Maria Brandauer, and Malcolm McDowell. It premiered at the Venice Film Festival and received a limited release on October 4, 2002.
Edoardo Ponti is an Italian director. He is the younger son of actress Sophia Loren and producer Carlo Ponti Sr. and the brother of conductor Carlo Ponti Jr.
Chiara Badano was an Italian teenager who has been beatified by the Roman Catholic Church. At age nine she joined the Focolare Movement and received the nickname "Luce" ("light") by the founder Chiara Lubich. When she was 16, she was diagnosed with osteogenic sarcoma, a painful bone cancer. Chiara died from the cancer on October 7, 1990, after a two-year battle with the disease. She was beatified on September 25, 2010, at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Divine Love in Rome. Her feast day is celebrated on October 29.
Maria Vittoria De Fornari Strata was an Italian Roman Catholic nun and the foundress of the Order of the Annunciation – or Blue Nuns. Fornari was married for just under a decade and decided not to find another spouse after having a vision of the Madonna who instructed her to lead a chaste life of motherhood. The widow decided to found an order not long after this based on the Carmelite charism.
Where Are You? I'm Here is an Italian drama film directed by Liliana Cavani. It was screened at the 50th Venice International Film Festival, where Anna Bonaiuto was awarded as best supporting actress.
Seven Blood-Stained Orchids is a 1972 giallo film directed by Umberto Lenzi, who also co-wrote the screenplay.
Che Dio ci aiuti is an Italian TV series that has been broadcast in Italy since December 15, 2011.
Red Joan is a 2018 British spy drama film, directed by Trevor Nunn, from a screenplay by Lindsay Shapero. The film stars Sophie Cookson, Stephen Campbell Moore, Tom Hughes, Ben Miles, Nina Sosanya, Tereza Srbova, and Judi Dench.
Maria Mudryak is a Kazakh operatic soprano.
The Veil of Maya is a 2017 Italian romantic comedy-drama film directed by Elisabetta Rocchetti.
A Chiara is a 2021 Italian-language drama film directed and written by Jonas Carpignano, the third film in his film trilogy set in a Calabrian town, following Mediterranea (2015) and A Ciambra (2017). The film stars Swamy Rotolo, Claudio Rotolo, Grecia Rotolo, and Carmela Fumo and had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on July 9, 2021, in the Directors' Fortnight section, to very positive reviews. Following its festival screening, the film was distributed by MK2 Films and Lucky Red in Italy and Neon in the United States.
