(Odessa in Fiamme)
Carmine Gallone
One of the masterpieces of European cinema during WWII, Odessa in Flames has been thought lost forever until a few years ago. The old 35mm copy was found in one of the archives of the Cinecitta studio and then it was restored and remastered. The film stars famous Romanian opera singer Maria Cebotari, who plays the part of Maria Teodorescu, an opera singer who gets stuck in Chişinău during the 1940 Soviet invasion of Bessarabia, then part of Romania. Her 8 year-old son is taken to a camp in Odessa (today - in Ukraine), and, in order to be able to see him again, she has to earn her living by singing in bars, taverns and theatres.
Festivals: Venice 1942
Awards: Biennale Award - Venice 1942
Director
Carmine Gallone
Cast
Maria Cebotari
Carlo Ninchi
Filippo Scelzo
Olga Solbelli
Silvia Dumitrescu
Country
Italy, Romania
Running time
12h:00m
Section
TIFF Edition