Elvira Notari

Elvira Notari (born Elvira Coda; 10 February 1875 – 17 December 1946) was an Italian film director, one of the country's early and more prolific female filmmakers. She is cred with making over 60 feature films and about 100 shorts and documentaries, quite often writing the subjects and screenplays, inspired by Naples. The Elvira Notari Prize is named after her.

She was of modest social origins. She married Nicola Notari. Together they founded Dora Film, and she became the first Italian woman to create a family film production company. She directed the films, while he worked as a cameraman. Their son, Eduardo or "Gennariello", based on a character he played, worked as an actor in many of the films. Eduardo nicknamed his mother "The General", based on her strong will and determination displayed in her film company. In an example, tears on screen for her films had to be real, brought up from a "painful or emotionally sensitive detail of a player's private life", rather than the use of glycerin for artificial tears.

She was born to Diego Coda and Agnese Vignes. Elvira was uncommonly allowed to attend school and pursue an education at the School of Science in literature while dancing as a hobby. In school, she developed her skills in the use of language and this was shown in her writing. In 1902, when she finished school she and her family moved to Naples. She worked as a "milliner" which she continued to do even after she became a filmmaker. Where after some time she found and in August 1902, married Nicola Notari. They had three children, Eduardo, Dora and Maria.