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A poetic exploration of pain and loss among four sisters, based on a stage play by the director.
In three chapters, this drama follows the lives of the Macaluso sisters: their childhood, adult life, and finally old age. The five siblings all live together without parents in an apartment in Palermo and earn their living by renting out doves for parties. Early on, the youngest sister, Antonella, dies in an accident in the sea — where the girls used to swim together — leaving her siblings grieving and at a loss. Thirty years later, Antonella is still with them: like a ghost, she fills the minds of her family and lives on in their memory. Most of the sisters gradually leave home, get married, and live their own lives. But the memory of their life together continues to preoccupy those who stay behind.
You'll find a Q&A with THE MACALUSO SISTERS director Emma Dante here.
You can buy tickets for the screening at the associated cinema RIO Filmpalast here.
Meet the director
Emma Dante
Born in Palermo in 1967, Emma Dante has always been interested in exploring the themes of family and marginalization in a poetic way. After graduating from the Accademia Nazionale d’Arte Drammatica Silvio D’Amico in Rome, she became a playwright and director. In 1999 she founded her own theater company, Sud Costa Occidentale, in Palermo. In 2014, her stage play “The Sisters Macaluso” premiered in Naples and was honored with several awards. That same year, Dante also became in-house director at the Biondo Theater and head of the School of Arts and Entertainment in Palermo. Her first feature film, VIA CASTELLANA BANDIERA, was released in 2013. THE MACALUSO SISTERS is her second feature film and is based on her play of the same title.