Cipria

In 1941 entrepreneur Giuseppe Visconti di Modrone asked a famous publicist, Dino Villari (later the creator of what would become the Miss Italia contest), to conceive a promotional campaign for a new face powder produced by his company. Villari hired screenwriter Cesare Zavattini, and together they launched the contest "The Movies of Your Life," in which Italian women would be able to participate by telling their true story, perhaps focusing on "a fictional story, a curious or interesting episode." The best stories would be published and broadcast, and the best would even become a film. The jury included directors Luchino Visconti and Vittorio De Sica, Giuseppe's son, Italian-Cuban writer Alba De Cespedes, and Zavattini himself.