Women in Cell Block 7

Women in Cell Block 7 (original title: Diario segreto da un carcere femminile) is an Italian film from 1973, written and directed by Rino Di Silvestro. It represents his first feature as a director and is considered the starting point of the Italian women-in-prison cycle, an exploitation subgenre set behind bars. Its heroine is a woman who gets herself sent to jail on purpose so that she can protect her father's life. Mixing dramatic and criminal storylines with the harsh style typical of exploitation cinema, the film depicts the grim conditions endured by female convicts and the tensions that define life inside the institution. Among the performers are Anita Strindberg, Jenny Tamburi, Eva Czemerys, Gabriella Giorgelli and Paola Senatore. The roughly 100-minute picture circulated abroad under several alternate names, such as Love in a Woman's Prison and Mädchen im Knast.