The Sicilian Girl

2008 Italian film

The Sicilian Girl

Directed by| Marco Amenta
Screenplay by| Marco Amenta
Sergio Donati
Gianni Romoli
Produced by| Simonetta Amenta
Tilde Corsi
Gianni Romoli
Music by| Pasquale Catalano

Release dates

* October 29, 2008 (2008-10-29) (Rome International Film Festival)
* February 27, 2009 (2009-02-27) (Italy)

Running time

| 115 minutes
Country| Italy
Languages| Italian, Sicilian

The Sicilian Girl (Italian: La siciliana ribelle) is a 2008 Italian film directed by Marco Amenta. The film is inspired by the story of Rita Atria, a key witness in a major Mafia investigation in Sicily.

## Synopsis

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Beginning in 1985 in Balata, Sicily, the eleven-year-old Rita Mancuso witnessed the assassination of her beloved father Don Michele by a rival Mafia family. Six years later, her brother is killed by the Mafia as well. Determined to avenge the murders, she decides to break the code of silence and goes to an anti-Mafia prosecutor in Palermo with her detailed diaries to be used as evidence. Being forced to flee her village, she is put into witness protection and transferred to a safe house in Rome.

## Reception

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For The Sicilian Girl, Amenta received a David di Donatello nomination for Best New Director.[1] According to a New York Times movie review, the film is hobbled by sluggish direction by Amenta, who previously addressed Atria’s story in his 1997 documentary, One Girl Against the Mafia: Diary of a Sicilian Rebel.[2]

Rita Atria's family have condemned the film; Atria's niece, Vita Maria Atria, said that "I don't believe that any of this helps to commemorate my aunt, but only serves economic ends which I really do not consider appropriate."[3]

## Cast

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* Veronica D'Agostino as Rita Mancuso
* Miriana Faja as Young Rita
* Francesco Casisa as Vito
* Carmelo Galati as Rita's brother
* Gérard Jugnot as Prosecutor
* Marcello Mazzarella as Don Michele
* Mario Pupella as Zio Salvo
* Primo Reggiani as Lorenzo
* Lorenzo Rosone as Young Vito
* Lucia Sardo as Rita's mother

## References

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1. ^ "Candidati 2008 - 2009" (in Italian). David di Donatello. Archived from the original on 25 July 2011. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
2. ^ Movie Review: The Sicilian Girl (2009): An Angry Soul From a Hard Island, The New York Times, August 3, 2010
3. ^ Italy anti-mafia film sparks anger with relatives, Reuters, March 26, 2009

## External links

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* The Sicilian Girl at IMDb
* The Sicilian Girl at Rotten Tomatoes