The Sheppard Fine Arts Gallery will present a one-hour rough cut of "SILVIA" at 6 p.m., Feb. 22, at the Nevada Museum of Art (NMA) the first in its New Films and Filmmakers: University of Nevada, Reno Annual Spring Series. Filmmakers Margo Pelletier and Lisa Thomas will be in residence, Feb. 20-27.

"It is an exciting opportunity for University students and the community to experience film from the filmmakers' perspective," said Marjorie Vecchio, Sheppard Art Gallery director.  

"Our community is gaining an international reputation for its cultural vitality," Vecchio said. "As gallery curator, I've contacted numerous artists about showing their work in the Sheppard Fine Arts Gallery. Without exception, professional artists are very interested in coming to Reno and working with our students."   

The documentary chronicles the life of Silvia Baraldini, who moved from Italy to the United States in the 1960's and began a life of political activism at the height of the Civil Rights Movement. In 1983, she was convicted and sentenced to serve 43 years for helping to free a female Black Panther activist from prison.

Baraldini served 17 years in United States prisons before she petitioned and won the right to serve the remainder of her sentence in Italy. During her incarceration, she developed cancer. The Italian government placed her on house arrest to facilitate treatment.

Last year, Italy passed the Pardon Law and Baraldini was released from her sentence Sept. 26, 2006.

"Silvia's release has changed the ending of the film, which lets our audience see how unanticipated events affect filmmaking and editing," Vecchio said. "This film captures the immediacy of Silvia's experience and delivers a powerful message about the cultural and political influences for which people throughout the world are routinely imprisoned."

Tickets for "SILVIA" are $4 for NMA members and $5 for non-members, students and seniors. A reception for the filmmakers begins at 5:15p.m. The documentary will begin at 6 p.m. Tickets are available online or at the Nevada Museum of Art admissions desk.

The New Films and Filmmakers: University of Nevada, Reno Annual Spring Series is supported by the Hilliard Endowment; Nevada Museum of Art, Friends of Sheppard Fine Arts Gallery, and the University of Nevada, Reno College of Liberal Arts dean, the School of the Arts and the Art Department.