Gloria!
The year is 1800. The place, Sant Ignazio College, a decrepit old musical institute for girls, somewhere near Venice. Here lives a silent, solitary maid tasked with the humblest chores. No one knows that her name is Teresa. No one suspects that she possesses an extraordinary talent that enables her to sense the harmony of the universe and reshape reality through music.
While everyone at the college is making a huge fuss about the imminent visit of the newly enthroned Pope, and the old chapel master is struggling to put together a new composition for the Pontifex, Teresa makes a discovery in a storeroom: a brand-new invention, a beautiful instrument – a pianoforte. Around Teresa and her revolutionary 'music machine' gathers an amazing quartet of young women: they are the true musicians of Sant Ignazio. From this secret cell of overlooked talents, a new music will be born that takes the Pope, and the entire world, by surprise.
The first directing effort from Italian singer-songwriter Margherita Vicario, Gloria! is about the imagination and talent of all the many female composers who, like pressed flowers, are hidden away in the pages of history.
Spirit of the Festival Best Film and Best Screenplay nominee