After working as a writer for «Il Giorno» and «Tempo Illustrato», and working on the cultural columns of «Il Messagero» and «La republica», Giovanna Gagliardo, born in 1941 near Turin, started writing for the screen and wrote the scripts of the TV show « La vita è romanzo», then for cinema, on «L’amica» and Nelo Risi’s «Una stagione all’inferno». She then became director Miklos Jancso’s assistant before directing herself several documentaries like «Passi nella memoria» and «Cinecittà». In 1978, she directed her first long feature, «Maternale», selected at the Directors’ Fortnight, then, in 1980, a TV film, «Il sogno dell’altro». In 1983, «Via degli specchi», her second cinema long feature, is presented at the Berlin Film Festival. «Caldo Soffocante» is her third long feature.