Her biography is a ready-made storyline for a movie (Hollywood, do you hear me?). In the end, how many of us are poor workers who make an acting career in Hollywood, who then become photographers who later turn into full-time communist activists? Meet Tina Modotti, a photographer made revolutionary, and don’t forget her name.

Phase 0: At the Spinning Mill

Tina Modotti was born Assunta Adelaide Luigia Modotti on the 17th August 1896. Her mother was a seamstress, her father a machinist, the Modotti family struggled to make ends meet. When Tina was two, they moved to Austria looking for a better fate, but in 1905 they returned to Italy. Little Tina had to catch up at school and learn Italian from scratch.