From 26 November 2026 on Amazon Prime VideoWomen · Music · Resistance
a film by Massimo Ivan Falsetta
How many women changed the history of music without their story ever being fully told?
Alessia D’Andrea is a forty-year-old musician. She has won prestigious awards, entered international charts and shared the stage with big names. Yet her career has always stopped one step short of success.
At the height of her crisis she comes across the stories of the great women artists who, like her, had to fight for their place in music and in the world. From those stories comes a documentary on the triad of women, music and resistance and, within her, a new album: The Journey.
Special appearance
The voice and flute of Jethro Tull join Alessia’s journey.
Among the collaborations that shaped Alessia D’Andrea’s career is her work with Ian Anderson, founder and frontman of one of the bands that wrote the history of British rock.
In StrongHer Anderson is at her side once again, bringing to the film the perspective of someone who has lived music at its centre for more than fifty years.
In memory
“Every future screening of StrongHer will inevitably carry with it the memory of his voice.”
We met him in Asti. We could not have imagined it would become one of the most precious encounters of the whole project. Massimo passed away before he could see the finished film: StrongHer will forever be our film with Massimo Cotto. It is dedicated to him.
Stills
The film
Synopsis
Always honour the sacred fire that burns inside, and enjoy the journey.
Alessia D’Andrea is a forty-year-old musician: over many years of stages and projects she has won prestigious awards, reached international charts and built notable artistic partnerships. Yet, through wrong choices and perhaps a little fate, her career has always stalled and she has never quite broken through.
Her crisis is echoed by today’s music scene, a market turned upside down, fluid and fragmented. When her musician friends also change course, Alessia finds herself alone and confused, with the wrong love behind her and a thousand unanswered questions.
At the height of the crisis comes the turning point: Alessia discovers the stories of the great women artists who, like her, had to fight for their place. She brings in her journalist friend Carmen and Massimo, a director who embraces the project at once, and as the documentary takes shape she finds herself writing new melodies: The Journey, her next album, is being born.
The record labels’ doors stay shut, but this time Alessia refuses to be discouraged. The accounts of music critics, producers and artists lead her, and the audience, to reflect on motherhood, sexism and ageism, issues often turned harshly against women.
Director’s notes
StrongHer began as a film about women, but over time I realised it had become something more: a film for everyone who, at least once in their life, has felt left behind while someone else moved ahead.
Alessia is a talented musician coming to terms with her own limits, her fears and a system that often fails to reward merit. Her story belongs to anyone who has devoted years, sacrifice and passion to what they love. I believe each of us can see ourselves in her.
True victory is not coming first. True victory is to keep walking when it would be easier to stop.
Like many artists, professionals, entrepreneurs, teachers, craftspeople and workers, I know the feeling of being invisible despite commitment, talent and results. I know the frustration of seeing value go unrecognised and the weight of the moments when you wonder whether it is worth going on. And yet we go on, because what we do is not simply a job: it is part of who we are. It is how we interpret the world, how we breathe.
StrongHer is about women who had to fight for their place in music and in society, but it is also about the universal strength of those who choose not to give up. The stubbornness of those who fall and get up again. The dignity of those who keep believing in their worth even when others seem not to notice.
That is why StrongHer is not only a story of female emancipation. It is a story of human resistance. A tribute to all the people who every day keep building, creating, teaching, caring, singing, writing, working and dreaming without the applause they deserve.
Because the greatest strength is not success. The greatest strength is never ceasing to be who you are.
Production notes
StrongHer began as an independent film project, but from the start it was above all a human one. Calabria was the beating heart of this adventure: not simply a location but a living character in the story, present in its streets, its landscapes and above all its people.
To build this mosaic of stories we set out from Calabria and travelled to Milan, Asti, Catania and London. The accounts of artists, musicians, journalists and scholars from different countries and cultures show how universal women’s battles in the music world are.
Special thanks go to Alessia D’Andrea and Carmen Loiacono who, besides playing their roles, shaped the identity of the project: the research, the discussion of themes, the selection of contributors and testimonies.
A film built with passion, stubbornness and trust, thanks to a team who believed in its value before the film even existed. A long and often difficult road that demanded personal, financial and professional sacrifices from everyone involved. The co-producers played a key role, sharing risks, responsibilities and artistic vision with the production.
The London trip reflected the wish to put a deeply Italian story in dialogue with an international perspective. And this is one of the souls of StrongHer: a work born in Calabria that looks out at the world.
In the end, what remains is not the difficulty. What remains is the people. The friendships made along the way. The women who chose to share their stories. The free-spirited artists who took part caring nothing for rules or money. A Calabria that has shown once again it has the talent, energy and skills to create culture and cinema.
With stubbornness. With passion. With courage.
The Journey
“Not every journey has a destination. Some begin when we stop long enough to listen to what is inside us.”
The Journey is an album of piano and voice only, recorded live, with no overdubs or edits. Its protagonist is The Dreamer, who moves through every track. Intro and Outro seem identical, except for the last chord, which shifts from minor to major: something has changed.
The director
Born in 1978, he started out as assistant director to Giuseppe Tornatore and Vittorio De Seta. In 2004 he joined the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia as first assistant director. His productions have won more than 100 national and international awards; in 2020 he was Italy’s most awarded advertising director.
His feature debut was Onde Road, about Italy’s free radio stations of the 1970s. He has directed Franco Nero, Neri Marcorè, Alessandro Haber, Roberto Herlitzka, Anna Falchi, Euridice Axen, Ettore Bassi, Luca Capuano and Sara Ricci. He is the founder and artistic director of RIFFF, the Roma International Fashion Film Festival.
Cast & credits
The voices
Winner of the Premio Mia Martini and Musicultura, her music has reached more than 15 countries. She has worked with Ian Anderson, Molella, David Arch, Steáfán Hannigan and Stephan Zeh. She is president of Artists United Against Bullying, and wrote the story and music of the film.
A professional journalist since 2009 and former culture editor of Il Domani della Calabria, she has always covered music and entertainment. Co-writer of the film.
Testimonies
Frontman of Jethro Tull.
Journalist and Virgin Radio host. The film is dedicated to him.
Writer for Mojo and The Guardian.
Il Messaggero, RTL 102.5.
Guitarist for Michael Jackson and Jeff Beck.
Violinist alongside Bob Dylan, featured in Martin Scorsese’s “Rolling Thunder Revue”.
And with Carmelo Giordano, Sebastiano Vinci, Francesco De Francesco, Massimo Rotundo, Anna Maria De Luca, Francesco Gallelli, Francesco Aiello, Paolo Mauro.
The film’s playlist
As we say in the film: this is where you can listen to these artists. Twenty-four women who opened new paths, from Billie Holiday to Billie Eilish, two songs each.
Each song opens on YouTube in a new window.
Screenings
Streaming on
AmazonPrime Video
26 November
2026
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