Szczegolny Dzien | A Special Day | Maria Mucha Ihnatowicz

“A Special Day” (Italy: “Una Giornata Particolare”. Polonia: “Szczegolny Dzien”) is a 1977 period drama film directed and co-written by Ettore Scola, produced by Carlo Ponti, and starring Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni. Set in Rome in 1938, its narrative follows a housewife (Loren) and her neighbor (Mastroianni) who stay home the day Adolf Hitler visits Benito Mussolini. An Italian-Canadian co-production, the film premiered at the 1977 Cannes Film Festival. It earned several accolades and nominations, including a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film, and two Oscar nominations for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Actor (Mastroianni). In 2008, the film was included on the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage´s 100 Italian films to be saved, a list of 100 films that “have changed the collective memory of the country between 1942 and 1978.” The poster artist Maria “Mucha” Ihnatowicz was born in 1937 and studied under the master of the Polish School of Posters Prof. Henryk Tomaszewski at the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, graduating in1963. She was a key member of the Polish School of Posters during the 1960s and 1970s. Mucha developed a joyful, painterly style all of her own; full of color and beauty. She produced dozens of posters over the next two decades and numerous book covers for the iconic KIK series. She was responsible for the visual side of The Interesting Book Club series from the mid-1960s to the 1990s. Her works are characterized by a spare and concise form. They are often colored with ironic tones as well as innovative, hand-made lettering. Her covers of literary works successfully reflected the character and tone of the text. Her art is characterized by intense suggestiveness, the use of flat spots, and strong color dissonances. Maria passed away in 2026.