From 2024 to 2026, Calliope Arts Foundation and the  Festival dei Popoli Institute are launching a collaborative project ‘Women Trailblazers in Documentary Cinema’, aimed at rediscovering and celebrating women filmmakers, whose work has been undervalued or forgotten over the years. Over the course of several editions, thanks to the support of Calliope Arts Foundation, the ‘Festival dei Popoli’ International Documentary Film Festival – will present tributes dedicated to female filmmakers neglected by the historiography of the art of cinema. This initiative offers the public the opportunity to appreciate the work of true trailblazers, who have remained in the shadows of their era.

The collaborative project with Calliope Arts Foundation foresees the development of thematic pathways, whose aim is to foster a process of rediscovery of women’s cinema, involving its artistic production as a whole, whilst spotlighting the movements, personalities and figures that deserve to be brought to light, including those who have not yet received due attention. This project strives to contribute to the reformulation of an important sector in the history of cinema which, until now, has been overlooked and is frequently one-sided, even as far as documentary films are concerned.

Calliope Arts Foundation is committed to furthering the public knowledge and appreciation of women’s contributions to visual arts, literature, science, music and social history in Florence, London and around the world. Founded in 2021 by Margie MacKinnon and Wayne McArdle, the Foundation provides support for restorations, exhibitions and educational activities, as well as curating and supporting programmes and publications such as The Curators’ Quaderno and Restoration Conversations magazine.