Lorenza Mazzetti (Italy)

Lorenza Mazzetti (1927-2020) was an Italian filmmaker, author and painter who became a founding member of the British Free Cinema movement. She directed 5 films from 1954 to 1966 before moving to literature and later to puppet theatre. After a happy childhood in Toscany that ended tragically with the slaughter of her family by the Nazis, she flew to London. She made her way to the Slade School of Art and signed the manifesto of the British Free Cinema with 3 fellow filmmakers, stating that "No film can be too personal. The image speaks. Sound amplifies and comments." Her films were left with less recognition while her male colleagues gained accolades. Beside films, she published well recognized novels The Sky is Falling (1962), Rage (1963) and the autobiographical The London Diaries (2014).