Documentary on Giuliana Traverso, photographer who taught women to look within

A documentary titled 'Io sono qui. Giuliana Traverso' has been released one year after the death of Genoese photographer Giuliana Traverso (1931-2021). The film, directed by Samuele Mancini and Matteo Garzi, explores Traverso's pioneering work in founding the first photography school for women in Italy in 1968. Traverso developed a unique teaching method aimed at unlocking female emotionality through photography, challenging the male-dominated technical approach of the era. The school, called 'Donna Fotografa', operated without a darkroom or enlargers, focusing instead on critical consciousness and creative expression. In 2003, she also opened the course 'Il Galateo della fotografia' to male students. Despite her decades-long career, Traverso's name is largely absent from major retrospectives of women's photography. The documentary, produced with the collaboration of Orietta Bay (her assistant and archive heir) and supported by MuMa Musei del Mare e delle Migrazioni in Genoa, aims to fill this gap.