29/11/2023
The Joys success at the recent Sydney screening. Still going strong 30 years on!
So appreciative of the wonderful write up by Marcella Marziani in today’s La Fiamma newspaper on The Joys 30th Anniversary screening in Sydney. Here's a quote:
ENGLISH TRANSLATION of REVIEW by MARCELLA MARZIANI FROM LA FIAMMA NEWSPAPERS
"This project was much more than a music documentary; it is a monument to the strength, identity and resilience of Italian immigrant women in Australia. Thirty years after its creation, the film continues to touch the hearts of viewers, offering an unforgettable experience through the beauty of music and authentic stories." Translation of article in full below.
The Joys of the Women - A Thirty Year Musical Journey
The documentary “The Joys of the Women” (Le Gioie Delle Donne) celebrated its thirtieth anniversary with a special screening, in collaboration with Co.As.It, at the Palace cinema on Norton Street, right in Sydney's "Little Italy", with a performance by Kavisha Mazzella (AM), followed by a question and answer session with the director of the film, Franco Di Chiera, and the director of the photography Simon Smith (ACS), compared by Comm. Mariangela Stagnitti (Order of the Star of Italy) of Donne Siciliane and the Italian Women's Business Network.
The film offers a touching look through the musical journey undertaken by singer/songwriter Kavisha Mazzella in rediscovering the lost songs of a generation.
The heart of the narrative is the Italian women's choir from Fremantle, a concentration of extraordinary personalities who bring to the stage the last glimmers of Italian popular music both in Italy and in Australia.
In 1993, "The Joys of the Women" was released in cinemas nationally and broadcast on ABC TV, introducing the choir to a national audience and turning it into a cultural phenomenon. The documentary includes Kavisha's touching song, "Wedding Sheets", which won her the Songwriting Prize at the West Australian Music Industry Awards (WAMIA).
The positive reviews that greeted the documentary highlighted the connections with Italian neorealism, capturing the daily lives of working-class Italian immigrants.
The film has crossed borders, screening at international film festivals and receiving nominations for Best Documentary at the Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards and was showing at the Festival dei Popoli in Florence.
The Fremantle Italian women's choir has become the symbol of the ‘Joys of the Women’. Invited to perform at prestigious events such as the 100 year anniversary celebration of Australian women winning the right to vote, the choir also recorded the theme song for the Fremantle Dockers football team.
Its impact goes beyond music, encompassing the celebration of the lives of immigrant women.
Director Franco Di Chiera said the inspiration came during the Gemellaggio Festival in Fremantle, when SBS commissioned him to record artists performing there. The power of the choir's songs deeply affected Di Chiera, who, being of Italian descent, felt a personal connection to the story of immigrants.
The journey with the choir began with research into Kavisha Mazzella and the choir, supported by funding from the WA Film Council and the Fremantle Film and Television Institute. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation embraced the project, starting the creation of what is now an important piece of history for Fremantle and for all of Australia.
This documentary focuses on the healing and cultural power of music, highlighting the political and feminist undertones of the choir's songs. Women, who mainly had a role as housewives and weren’t active participants in Australian society, still linked to Italian traditions which saw them mainly taking care of the house and children, found a voice through music, transforming themselves into recognized and respected figures.
The film seeks to validate the experiences of immigrant women, revealing their impact and transformative power.
Three decades later, "The Joys of the Women" continues to be an integral part of international festivals, testifying to its lasting impact. The director reflects on the effect of the documentary, which not only helped change the Australian public’s perception of immigrant women but also the attitudes of their husbands, and inspired the establishment of numerous similar choirs around Australia.
Looking to the future, Di Chiera is involved in a new project entitled "Bonegilla", a movie set in a migrant camp in the 1950s which has resonances with contemporary issues such as asylum seekers in detention.
In his work, the director underlines the importance of affecting people's emotions to create lasting changes within society, underlining the unique power of art in general, music and cinema as fundamental tools to facilitate change and social reflection.
This project was much more than a music documentary; it is a monument to the strength, identity and resilience of Italian immigrant women in Australia.
Thirty years after its creation, the film continues to touch the hearts of viewers, offering an unforgettable experience through the beauty of music and authentic stories.
