Alessandro Cassigoli and Casey Kauffman, 2018, 79 minutes

When Irma Testa became Italy’s first female boxer to qualify for the Olympics, the media descended on her without relent. Her story was simply too good to be true: a pretty, 18 year-old girl from one of Naples’ most violent, Camorra-controlled neighborhoods who beat the odds and made history. Irma was portrayed as flawless and determined. She hid behind the facade and left for the Olympics. Her 78 year-old coach Lucio feared the pressure was too much and will never forget when she burst into tears mid fight in Rio de Janeiro. Irma returned to Italy without a medal and confused sense of herself. Her media crafted image was a lie and now that the spotlight is gone, Lucio is encouraging her to reflect. She has big decisions ahead of her. Is boxing really for her? Can she handle the pressure? Irma finally has the anonymity to chart her own course but feels she must first face the conflicts in her family and personal life so she can come to terms with herself and move forward again

Q&A with director and journalist Casey Kauffman and artist Alberto Polo Cretara 

This screening is part of the 29th edition of NICE Film Festival, New Italian Cinema Events, a non-for-profit cultural organization that was founded in 1991 by a group of passionate film professionals, and in the years it has grown into one of the most important expressions of Italian cinematography. The goal of the organization is to promote new Italian cinema abroad through a series of film festivals and cultural exchanges in United States, Russia, England and China.