The First Times

Amateur films are often referred to as “family films” or “home movies” — but what kind of home, and what kind of family, are we talking about? These images proliferated during a period marked by the consolidation of gender roles: from the patriarchal, affluent hobbyist filmmakers of the 1930s to the postwar boom, when prosperity gave husbands and fathers the means to document weddings, honeymoons, births, and family vacations. It is within this context that the title of Cosentino and Sardella’s found-footage piece — presented as a film by its protagonists, Emilia and Caterina — takes on its meaning. the treatment of the archive material makes it seem as if for the first time two women have been allowed to film themselves and tell their story, overturning the male cineamateur's gaze, exploring today the attraction and relationship that their time has denied them — in just a few minutes that condense the essence of an absorbing period melodrama, waiting to be written. And yet, from the Italy of the 1960s to that of today, first times are never enough. Perhaps only the archives of the future will be able to tell of a path of liberation finally achieved.

Sergio Fant

Giulia Cosentino
The First Times, 2025
Why Are You Running Away?, 2020
He and I, 2019

Perla Sardella
The First Times, 2025
Le Grand viveur, 2020
Prendere la parola, 2019
Comfort Zone, 2015