Donna: Women in Revolt

Special evening with director Yvonne Scholten as part of the in-depth program Feministisch Filmkollektief Cinemien, in which Eye Filmmuseum explores the legacy of this pioneering collective. Founded during the height of second-wave feminism, Feministisch Filmkollektief Cinemien (1974-1989) aimed to change the portrayal of women in film by showcasing works by and for women. They have been groundbreaking in increasing the visibility of female filmmakers.


Donna: Women in Revolt (1980)

Women’s resistance in 20th-century Italy has a deeply admirable history, as Yvonne Scholten shows in this 1980 film. Her story begins in Rome in 1979, with a chilling attack on a women’s radio station by a group of fascists.

From there, Scholten goes back in time, covering the fight for women’s suffrage led by upper-class women, early 20th-century workers’ movements, the underestimated role of women in the partisan resistance during World War II, and the militant peasant women of Sardinia.

Through extraordinary archive footage and interviews, Scholten—who worked for many years as a correspondent in Italy for Dutch media—gives voice to a wide range of Italian women who stood up against all forms of oppression, whether social, political, or religious. Recently restored, this film remains as relevant today as it was then. The work is far from over.

The restoration of Donna: vrouwen in verzet is a collaboration between Eye Filmmuseum and the Netherlands Institute for Sound & Vision. The restoration has been made possible thanks to A Season of Classic Films, an initiative of Association des Cinémathèques Européennes (ACE) supported by the EU Creative Europe MEDIA programme.