The Life Apart

Directed by Marco Tullio Giodana, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Marco Bellochio and Gloria Malatesta, and inspired by the acclaimed novel by Mariapia Veladiano, A Life Apart is an absorbing drama that explores identity, beauty and the power of music. Featuring original music by acclaimed composer Dario Marianelli (Pride & Prejudice, Atonement, Pinocchio), it follows a wealthy and influential family in the beautiful Italian art city Vicenza, consisting of Maria, her husband Osvaldo, and his twin sister Erminia, a renowned concert pianist. In the early 1980s, after years of trying to conceive, Maria finally gives birth to a long-awaited and eagerly anticipated daughter, Rebecca. However, Rebecca is born with a prominent purple birthmark covering half her face. Despite being otherwise normal and beautiful, the mark becomes an obsession for Maria, leading her to reject her responsibilities as a mother. Rebecca’s adolescence is marred by shame and isolation until her aunt Erminia takes over her education and discovers her exceptional musical talent, offering her a means to escape her family’s obsessions and secrets.

Born in 1950, Marco Tullio Giordana is a Milanese film director renowned for his socially inspired cinema. His debut feature, To Love the Damned (1980), won the Golden Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival. His award-winning films include Who Killed Pasolini? (1995), The Best of Youth (2003) winner of the Cannes Film Festival Un Certain Regard Award, and Wild Blood (2008).