London – Monica Vitti: Creative Force is a retrospective organised by the British Film Institute in collaboration with Cinecittà and the Directorate-General for Cinema and Audiovisual of Italy's Ministry of Culture, celebrating the extraordinary career of Monica Vitti. The programme features a series of 4K restorations produced by Cinecittà, the CSC – National Film Archive and Minerva Pictures. Screenings will take place throughout August at BFI Southbank and BFI IMAX. The season highlights Vitti's remarkable comic talent and her bold challenge to conventional female roles in Italian cinema, showcasing performances that effortlessly combine humour, emotional depth, camp sensibility and rebellion—often within the same film. The retrospective opens on 6 August with Introducing Monica Vitti: More Than a Muse, an event in which curator Catherine O'Rawe and invited guests will explore Vitti's complete body of work, discussing her status as one of the defining faces of post-war European cinema, her place within the Italian film industry, the richness and versatility of her performances, and her decision to direct her final feature, Scandalo segreto (Secret Scandal). The programme includes Vitti's celebrated collaborations with Michelangelo Antonioni: L'Avventura (1960), La Notte (1961), L'Eclisse (1962), Red Desert (Deserto Rosso, 1964), presented in a 4K restoration by Cinecittà and the CSC – National Film Archive, and their final collaboration, the rarely screened The Mystery of Oberwald (Il mistero di Oberwald, 1980). Also featured is the little-known early comedy Le Dritte (Mario Amendola, 1958), which will be shown in its original 35mm format. Recognised as one of the great style icons of the 1960s, Vitti is also celebrated through the two films she made in Swinging London: Modesty Blaise (Joseph Losey, 1966), screened in 35mm and marking her first English-language leading role alongside fellow 1960s icons Terence Stamp and Dirk Bogarde, and The Girl with a Pistol (La ragazza con la pistola, Mario Monicelli, 1968), presented in a new 4K restoration by Cinecittà. Other 4K restorations featured in the programme include Teresa the Thief (Teresa la ladra, Carlo Di Palma, 1973), I Know That You Know That I Know (Io so che tu sai che io so, Alberto Sordi, 1982) and I Married You for Fun (Ti ho sposato per allegria, Luciano Salce, 1967). The restoration of I Married You for Fun was carried out by Cinecittà's digital laboratories using film elements discovered in Paris, preserved by Éclair Preservation and owned by StudioCanal. Among the recovered materials were two scenes originally removed by the censors, which have now been reinstated, allowing audiences to experience Salce's complete restored version of the film. This version premiered at last year's Venice International Film Festival. The retrospective also includes screenings of La Tosca (Luigi Magni, 1973) and Stardust (Polvere di stelle, Alberto Sordi, 1973), as well as a rare 35mm screening of Scandalo segreto (Secret Scandal, 1989), the only film written and directed by Monica Vitti. A thoughtful meditation on acting and femininity, it also marked the unforgettable actress's final appearance on the big screen. (9colonne)