The Sicilian Girl (La Siciliana Ribelle)

Italian director Marco Amenta's potent drama is based on the true story of Rita Atria, the determined daughter of a slain mob boss who, in the early 1990s, when she was only 17, broke the mafia's code of silence and stood alone to testify against the "family business." Sicilian native Veronica D'Agostino skillfully portrays the headstrong Rita in her complex transformation from privileged girl to social activist, and French actor Gérard Jugnot plays the crusading magistrate who becomes her friend and sole protector. As Rita is put into a witness protection program, her life is constantly in danger. Filmmaker Amenta previously produced an award-winning documentary on the actual Rita, and he brings to this dramatic version a vivid grasp of the deep-rooted culture, regional identities and corruption that allow the mafia and its inviolable codes to linger. In Italian with English subtitles. Writers: Marco Amenta, Sergio Donati. Director: Marco Amenta. (Italy 2008) 110 min.