Giulietta Masina, Fellini’s wife and muse, reprises her brief role in The White Sheik in Nights of Cabiria, a film co-written by Pier Paolo Pasolini. It follows prostitute Cabiria on a series of misadventures as she circulates through the city. Cruelly mistreated by her pimp, who robs her and pushes her into a river, leaving her to drown, Cabiria yearns for true love and an escape from her life. While under hypnosis at a magic show, she reveals these dreams, only to be cruelly mocked by the laughing audience. However, one man approaches her, and begins to court her, and she dares to dream again in a film that advocates for hope and optimism even in the face of pain and horrific cruelty.  

Screening as part of the Federico Fellini retrospective, April 4th to 30th.