21° TORINO FILM FESTIVAL
Americana

Sophia: a Self-Portrait

Sophia: a Self-Portrait

Country: USA
Year: 1968
Duration: 55'


A portrait of the actress Sofia Loren describing her like a planetary star such as Marilyn Monroe or Elizabeth Taylor. A few scenes of this documentary take place in the villa outside Rome where the actress and Carlo Ponti live, while she tries on eccentric outfits and makes faces, just like in a home movie. This intimacy pervades the entire film, even when Sofia Loren receives the telephone call telling her she has won an Oscar. Most of the narration is in the first person, talking about her childhood and explaining how she and her mother decided to move from Naples to Rome thanks to a $50 prize she won in a beauty contest. By becoming an actress, she was able to make her dreams, and her mother's ambitions, come true.

"This is an autobiographical documentary and is done better because it is not a chronological story, but the portrait of an actress and a woman" (M. Stuart).

Biography

film director

Mel Stuart

Over the years, Mel Stuart has directed and produced over 150 documentaries. Some of them are Four Days in November, Wattstax and the reality series Ripley's Believe It or Not, with Jack Palance. He has also made numerous television movies like The Triangle Factory Fire Scandal and Ruby and Oswald and the feature-length film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. He is now producing a series about American poetry.

FILMOGRAFIA

The Making of the President (doc., TV, 1960, 1964, 1968), D-Day (doc., TV, 1962), Four Days in November (doc., 1964), China - The Roots of Madness (doc., TV, 1966), If itís Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium (Se Ë martedÏ deve essere il Belgio, 1969), Sophia: a Self Portrait (Sofia: un autoritratto, 1968), I Love My Wife (Amo mia moglie, 1970), Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (Willy Wonka e la fabbrica di cioccolato, 1971), One is a Lonely Number (Una donna in attesa di divorzio, 1972), Wattstax (doc, 1973), Love from A to Z (doc., TV, 1974), Life Goes to the Movies (doc., TV, 1976), Ruby and Oswald (TV, 1978), The Triangle Factory Fire (TV, 1979), The Chisholms (serie TV, 1979), Sophia Loren, Her Own Story (Sophia Loren, TV, 1980), The White Lions (1981), Cary Grant, a Celebration (mm, doc., TV, 1988), ´PBS American Mastersª - Man Ray: Prophet of the Avant Garde (1996), ´PBS American Mastersª - Billy Wilder: The The Making of the President (doc., TV, 1960, 1964, 1968), D-Day (doc., TV, 1962), Four Days in November (doc., 1964), China - The Roots of Madness (doc., TV, 1966), If it's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium (Se è martedì deve essere il Belgio, 1969), I Love My Wife (Amo mia moglie, 1970), Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (Willy Wonka e la fabbrica di cioccolato, 1971), One is a Lonely Number (Una donna in attesa di divorzio, 1972), Wattstax (doc, 1973), Love from A to Z (doc., TV, 1974), Life Goes to the Movies (doc., TV, 1976), Ruby and Oswald (TV, 1978), The Triangle Factory Fire (TV, 1979), The Chisholms (serie TV, 1979), Sophia Loren, Her Own Story (Sophia Loren, TV, 1980), The White Lions (1981), Cary Grant, a Celebration (mm, doc., TV, 1988), «PBS American Masters» - Man Ray: Prophet of the Avant Garde (1996), «PBS American Masters» - Billy Wilder: The Human Comedy (1997), AFI's 100 Year - 100 Movies (TV, 1998), Running on the Sun (doc., 1999), BBC - A Window on the World (doc, TV, 2000), Seeing Stars with Hy Gardner (TV, 2001), «Academy of American Poets» - Anthony Hecht: The Poet's View (2001), «Academy of American Poets» - W.S. Merwin: The Poet's View (2002), Still Perfect: 20 Unforgettable Photographs (2002), «Academy of American Poets» - John Ashbery: The Poet's View (2003).

Cast

& Credits

Regia/Director: Mel Stuart
Soggetto, sceneggiatura/Story, screenplay: Robert Abel, David Seltzer
Fotografia/Director of photography: John A. Alonzo, Robert Gerardi
Montaggio/Film editor: Carl Kress
Voce del narratore/Voice: Sophia Loren
Produttor/Producer: Robert Abel, Mel Stuart
Produzione/Production: Wolper Productions

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