Sveva Caetani Recapitulation - A Journey

$44.00 Adult
$24.00 Students
$36.00 Seniors 60+
Including fees & charges
(This film is not suitable for children under 12)

Sveva Caetani: Recapitulation – A Journey is a poetic art film inspired by the visionary paintings and writings of Sveva Caetani. Neither a conventional documentary nor a drama, the film unfolds as an intimate visual journey through darkness and transformation. Ticketed guests are welcome at a pre-screening reception from 5:30–6:30 pm, featuring paintings by Sveva Caetani and Heidi Thompson. The film starts at 7:00 pm.

Sveva Caetani was born in Rome into the Caetani family, one of the most influential families in Italy, whose history includes Pope Boniface VIII, artists, and statesmen. Her father was Prince Leone Caetani, a parliamentarian, Islamic scholar, and outspoken opponent of war and fascism. Her mother was Ofelia Fabiani, Leone Caetani’s mistress.

Political pressures, together with the complexities of this relationship, led Leone Caetani to leave Italy with Ofelia and Sveva in the early 1920s. They settled in Vernon, British Columbia, where Leone believed he could continue his studies away from public scrutiny. During Sveva’s childhood, the family often travelled to Europe. She was educated by governesses, read widely, learned several languages, and was instructed in music, philosophy, and history. Her father’s deep love of culture and learning profoundly shaped her inner life.

Leone Caetani died in 1935. In the years that followed, Sveva lived in increasing isolation. Driven by fear and emotional dependence, her ailing mother kept her largely confined to their home and grounds for more than twenty-five years, preventing friendships, independence, and artistic expression. During this time, Sveva did not paint.

Only after her mother’s death did Sveva begin an independent life. She trained as a teacher and taught for twenty years, first at St. James Elementary School and later at Charles Bloom Secondary School. In midlife, as her health began to fail, she retired and turned fully to painting.

From 1975 to 1989, guided by a powerful inner vision, Sveva created Recapitulation—fifty-six watercolour paintings with accompanying texts. Loosely modelled on The Divine Comedy, the work moves from earthly hells and human suffering, through reflection and endurance, toward awakening and a celebration of human potential.

Completed despite severe arthritis that eventually crippled her hands and left her wheelchair-bound, Recapitulation became Sveva’s life work. The film brings the complete series to life.

In a final act of generosity, she bequeathed her home to the City of Vernon to become the Caetani Cultural Centre, dedicated to supporting art and artists. She also donated her paintings to the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, from where they later returned to Vernon’s Caetani Cultural Centre. Sveva Caetani died on April 27, 1994, at the age of seventy-seven.

The film Sveva Caetani: Recapitulation – A Journey, created by Vernon-born filmmaker and artist Heidi Thompson—who was Sveva’s friend and photographer for the final ten years of her life—is a poetic, immersive art film that opens Sveva Caetani’s inner world. Cinematography by Armenia-based Nikita Bagratuni brings stillness, depth, and presence to the journey, inviting viewers into a contemplative experience of memory, endurance, and transformation.

All guests are welcome to the pre-screening art reception 5:30 - 6:30 featuring paintings from Sveva Caetani and Heidi Thompson.