(PDF) (DOC) (JPG)February 25, 2004

(Mahwah) – Ingrid Bergman-Rossellini will present a lecture, Rossellini’s Neorealism: Social and Historical Commitment,” Wednesday, March 3 at 6:30 p.m. in the Sharp Theater on the campus of Ramapo College of New Jersey. She is the daughter of the legendary actress Ingrid Bergman and Italian film director Roberto Rossellini.

Rossellini, an academic, will discuss her father’s film career in the context of neorealism. To illustrate, she will show clips from his movies. The traditional view of Italian neorealism, according to Peter Bondanella in his book Italian Cinema: From Neorealism to the Present, reflects an emphasis on social realism and its general characteristics: realistic treatment, popular setting, social content, historical actuality and political commitment.

The director’s Rome, Open City (1945) represents the landmark work of neorealist film. It reflected the moral and psychological atmosphere in Italy and alerted both the public and critics to a new direction in Italian cinema. The film is the first of the director’s war trilogy, followed by Paisan (1946) and Germany Year Zero (1947).

Cinematic historians estimate that only about 10 percent of films produced in Italy between 1945 and 1953 can be classified as neorealist. The neorealists explored the war, the Resistance and the Partisan struggle, unemployment, poverty and social injustice.

Ingrid Rossellini, whose given name is Isotta, has been a visiting scholar at Harvard and Princeton. She is an adjunct professor at New York University and teaches The Italian South: Literature, Theater, Cinema there. She is the twin sister of actress Isabella Rossellini.

The Sharp Theater is located in the Berrie Center for Performing and Visual Arts on the College’s campus. The lecture is presented by Ramapo College’s Italian Club. A light dinner will be served following the lecture. For more information, call 201.684.7406.

###

About Ramapo College

Ramapo College of New Jersey is the state’s premier public liberal arts college and is committed to academic excellence through interdisciplinary and experiential learning, and international and intercultural understanding. The comprehensive college is situated among the beautiful Ramapo Mountains, is within commuting distance to New York City, was named one of the 50 Most Beautiful College Campuses in America by CondeNast Traveler, and boasts the best on-campus housing in New Jersey per Niche.com. Established in 1969, Ramapo College offers bachelor’s degrees in the arts, business, data science, humanities, social sciences and the sciences, as well as in professional studies, which include business, education, nursing and social work. In addition, the College offers courses leading to teacher certification at the elementary and secondary levels, and offers graduate programs leading to master’s degrees in Accounting, Applied Mathematics, Business Administration, Contemporary Instructional Design, Computer Science, Creative Music Technology, Data Science, Educational Leadership, Nursing, Social Work and Special Education, as well as a Doctor of Nursing Practice.

Press Release Archives

| 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 |