The Autobiography of My Mother

In their secluded farmhouse, a mother (a former surgeon) teaches her daughter, Francisca, anatomy, and life & death are not to be feared. One afternoon, a mysterious visitor shatters the idyll of their family life, and deeply traumatises Francisca, but also awakening curiosities. Years later, Francisca clings to her increasingly distant father, but the trauma she sustained reawaken when her desire to connect with the world around her takes on a dark form.

A once-iconic fashion model strives to escape the world of images and disappear for good, but her son's determination to make a final film about her sparks an unexpected collaboration and confrontation with the camera's gaze.

Benedetta wants to disappear. An iconic fashion model in the 1960s, she became a muse to Warhol, Dali, Penn and Avedon. As a radical feminist in the 1970s, she fought for the rights and emancipation of women. But at the age of 75, she becomes fed up with all the roles that life has imposed upon her and decides to leave everything and everybody behind, to disappear to a place as far as possible from the world she knows. Hiding behind the camera, her son Beniamino witnesses her journey. Having filmed her since he was a child in spite of all her resistance, he now wants to make a film about her, to keep her close for as long as possible - or, at least, as long as his camera keeps running.

In this lyrical and deeply moving memoir, one of America’s most revered actresses weaves stories of her adventures and travels with her mother, while reflecting on the beautiful spirit that persists even in the face of her mother’s struggle with Alzheimer’s disease.

In this poetic and inspiring memoir, one of America’s most revered actresses uses the imagery of flowers and the art of Ikebana to depict the unique creative bond that she has had with her mother throughout the years - and how, together, they are facing her mother’s struggle with Alzheimer’s disease.

Newly married and established in her career as an award-winning newspaper journalist, Maggie Downs quits her job, sells her belongings, and embarks on the solo trip of a lifetime: Her mother's.

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