For generations the women of the Lupi family have had to bow to the anti-pleasure male dominated traditions. Mars' grandmother Nonna has found her own way, but can protect her from her mother Grace only to a certain extent. The sixteen-year-old begins to discover the sensual side of her body, as a result of which all hell breaks loose for her. Caught masturbating by her mother, she is beaten by her father with a belt. The doctor is called to the scene not to nurse Mars' wounds, but to pescribe an effective cure for her growing feelings of desire. Instead of this, Grace is given a lecture by Dr Powers, which she initially refuses to accept. But, infected with her daughter's rebellion, and because she begins to see that she cannot halt the course of nature, Grace gradually becomes an ally to Mars, and has to come to terms with her own sexuality and frustration, albeit at first somewhat ambivalently. When the father comes home and gives Grace a good trashing, they together plan to marry off their daughter – an attempted match which ends in disaster. When the choleric father later misinterprets a situation between the two youths as sexual, he reaches for his gun... ...For all who can't be stopped to read more...

• Un pugno di mosche is the Italian phrase used to describe a woman who goes her own way. She will have nothing left, except a fistful of lies, ie nothing, since flies cannot be caught. It is precisely this nothing, with which Mars refuses tobe satisfied. She is not interested in a sexual nothing, a nothing of love or a nothing career. In her debut feature film, the director Monica Pellizzari, developes with her search for female cultural and sexual identity themes from her award-winning short films. Fistful of Flies has a subdued tone, despite the occasional comic moment. A strong visual element with unusual perspectives and a touch of surrealism ensures that this depressing atmosphere does not suffocate the audience. Pellizzari, who also wrote the screenplay, departs from the usual paths: Mars' realationship with the people around her, especially her mother, are not forseeable, giving the film a particularly realistic feel. This is supported by the portrayal of the immigrant family. Diversity within a foreign culture are often brought to the fore, surprising non-Italian audiences with internal culrural conflicts of the immigrant community. In fact, the Lupis' marriage is mixed (between North and South Italians), and cannot work for this reason alone. Fistful of Flies reflects the experiences of many young women who grew up in the 60's and 70's, and yet the film deliberately conveys a timeless impression. What is even more disturbing than the film itself, with its plea for women's self-determination – eg the African Australian woman Doctor Powers ("You mustn't be from around here.") – is the director's discovery that the women interviewed for the film have had experiences far worse, than a filmmaker could ever subject an audience to: a recurring fact, which Fistful of Flies shares for instance with this year's German film about abuse, Roula by Martin Enlen.

• Fistful of Flies will join the ranks of other recent productions from Australia and New Zealand, such as The Piano, Once Were Warriors, Muriel's Wedding and Heavenly Creatures, and will appeal to an international, and not exclusively female, audience. Director Monical Pellizzari has won more than two dozen international prizes for just four short films, almost guaranteeing success in countries such as Germany.

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