For those that loved Donatella di Pietrantonio’s wonderful prose and coming of age story in her award-winning novel, L’Arminuta (A Girl Returned), do get to know her as a screenwriter in Giuseppe Bonito’s adaptation of her book. International screenings are now beginning and we’ll list them here when they appear.
L’Arminuta is set in Abruzzo, the summer of 1975.
A 13-year-old girl, a suitcase in one hand and a bag of shoes in the other, knocks at an unknown door. Her sister Adriana opens it, her eyes wrinkled, her braids unravelled: they’ve never seen each other before. So begins the story of a teenager who lost everything overnight: a comfortable home, her closest friends, the unconditional love of her parents – or rather the people she believed were her parents. For “l’Arminuta” (the returned girl) as her peers called her, a new and very different life begins, from the adoptive family to her real one, going from wealth to poverty, both material and moral. Her new home is small, dark, there are brothers everywhere and little food on the table to share. But there’s Adriana, who shares a bed with her. And there’s Vincenzo, who looks at her as if she were already a woman.
UK
Sunday 20th February, 15.00 -17.00
London, Riverside Studios, Sunday 20th February, 15.00 -17.00
Author: Sam Dunham
Sam is a freelance SEO content creator and IGCSE Geography and English teacher at Istituto Cristo Re in Rome. She also runs the Life In Abruzzo Cultural Association, sharing stories and insights about this captivating region.
Alongside raising a teenager, Sam hosts guests at her family’s traditional home, the Little House of the Firefly in Abruzzo, offering a warm welcome and insider tips on local culture, food, and hidden gems.
