Burning Destinies

Palermo, 1897, the Cinematographer makes his debut at the Exhibition on New Technologies. Attending the great event there are Arianna (Giulia Bevilacqua), wife of Guglielmo (Thomas Trabacchi), the Duke of Villalba, a rich but violent man. At the exhibition, the woman meets her niece Costanza (Dharma Mangia Woods), daughter of Augusto (Paolo Sassanelli), the man who brought the first projector in Palermo. Costanza is betrothed to Antonio (Teodoro Giambanco), the scion of a very rich family. Together with them, there are also: the faithful maid Rosalia (Laura Chiatti), who dreams moving to the States with her husband Giuseppe (Giovanni Alzaldo), and Margherita (Francesca Valtorta), the daughter of Donna Elvira (Loretta Goggi) visiting Palermo with his son Tommaso, who is entrusted to the custody of Rosalia. While outside the exhibition building a group of anarchists, led by the young Libero (Leonardo Pazzagli) are protesting against the system, flames spread from the projector. A disruptive fire breaks out making many victims, almost all women, and changes for ever the lives of Arianna, Constanza, Rosalia and Donna Elvira.