The Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia (Experimental Center of Cinematography; CSC), also referred to as the Scuola Nazionale di Cinema (National Film School), is an Italian national film school headquartered in Rome, with satellite educational hubs in five other Italian regions.
It was established in 1935 and aims to promote the art and technique of cinematography and film.
History
The center is the oldest film school in Western Europe.[1] It was founded in Rome in 1935,[2] during the Fascist era, by Benito Mussolini's head of cinema, Luigi Freddi, and his son, Vittorio Mussolini, as part of the Cinecittà Studios. He aimed to revive the Italian film industry, but he was also aware of the propaganda value of films. He created the slogan "Il cinema è l'arma più forte" ("cinema is the most powerful weapon").[3][4]
During World War II, much of the original production equipment was stolen or destroyed by the Nazi occupiers.[5] Many attempts to trace them in Germany and the Soviet Union after the war were unsuccessful.[6]
In 1955, it became a founding member of the international CILECT (Centre International de Liaison des Ecoles de Cinéma et de Télévision) network of film schools.[8][2]
Description and aims
The Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia (CSC), or in English the Experimental Center of Cinematography,[9] also refers to itself as the Scuola Nazionale di Cinema.[10] Headquartered in Rome, it also has five regional offices, in Abruzzo, Lombardy, Piedmont, Sicily, and Veneto.[11]
It is known for its research and experimentation and offers a range of courses covering different aspects of making films. Courses are taught in English and Italian and run for three years. Entry is competitive, with only six to eight places available per class.[9] It has a history of admitting a large number of international students and offers courses in acting, directing, cinematography, set design, costume design, screenwriting, sound design, film editing, film production, and, since 1983, animation.[12]
Among the center's goals are the development of cinema and audiovisual art and techniques to levels of excellence through distinct sectors of the foundation itself, the National Film School, and the National Film Archive (Cineteca Nazionale[7]). It is one of the oldest film archives in the world.[2]
Governance and funding
The CSC was and still is financed by the Italian Government.[7] Since the election of the far-right government of Giorgia Meloni, there has been political interference. In mid-2023, the government passed a decree that enabled it to appoint board members to the CSC. Over 600 Italian film professionals, including Nanni Moretti, Marco Bellocchio, Paolo Sorrentino, Luca Guadagnino, and Alice Rohrwacher signed an open letter, which was published in the press.[7] President Marta Donzelli, along with two board members, resigned in protest against the new legislation, which also abolished the position of the director-general. In August 2023, minister of culture Gennaro Sangiuliano announced the appointment of actor Sergio Castellitto as the new president, and a number of new board members, including Pupi Avati and Giancarlo Giannini.[13]
As of January 2024[update], Adriano De Santis is head of the school.[2]
Giuseppe De Santis was an Italian film director. One of the most idealistic neorealist filmmakers of the 1940s and 1950s, he wrote and directed films punctuated by ardent cries for social reform.
Virgilio Tosi was an Italian documentary filmmaker and historian of early film.
Carlo Gregorio Verdone is an Italian actor, screenwriter and film director.
His Last Twelve Hours is a 1951 French-Italian drama film directed by Luigi Zampa and starring Jean Gabin, Mariella Lotti and Elli Parvo. The film's sets were designed by the art director Gastone Medin. It was shot at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia near Cinecittà in Rome.
Paola Pitagora is an Italian film actress. She has appeared in 50 films since 1959.
Luigi Freddi was an Italian journalist and politician, principally notable for being the first vice seсretary of the Fasci italiani all'estero, and later one of those most responsible for Italian political cinema in the second half of the 1930s and the start of the 1940s.
Bianco e Nero is an Italian film journal. It is the oldest film publication in Italy.
National Film School may refer to:
Umberto Barbaro was an Italian film critic and essayist.
Sante Monachesi (1910–1991), was an Italian painter belonging to the modern movement of the Scuola romana and founder in 1932 of the Movimento Futurista nelle Marche .
Giuseppe Lanci is an Italian cinematographer.
Luigi Kuveiller was an Italian cinematographer, best known for his collaboration with film director Elio Petri.
Maria Grazia Francia was an Italian actress of classic cinema.
Ana Caterina Morariu is a Romanian-born actress Italian naturalized.
Piero Tellini was an Italian screenwriter and film director.
Francesca Cardinale is a professional Italian actress living in London. She is the niece of the actress Claudia Cardinale.
Anina Pinter is a Los Angeles-based costume designer known for her work in films such as The Field Guide To Evil, Divergent and the National Geographic television series Year Million. She was born in Hungary, later training in Rome for 10 years with Italian costume designers Carlo Poggioli, Gabriella Pescucci and Milena Canonero, studying costume design in Rome with Piero Tosi at Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia.
Valentina Bellè is an Italian actress.
Cineteca Nazionale is a film archive located in Rome, Italy. It was founded in 1949. By law it manages the so-called legal deposit, with the task of collecting, preserving and disseminating the productions of Italian cinema. It is the only Italian film library that enjoys the right of mandatory legal deposit of all films produced and co-produced in Italy and registered in the Public Film Register held by the SIAE. It is part of the nonprofit foundation Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia.
Cineteca Italiana is a private film archive located in Milan, Italy, established in 1947, and as a foundation in 1996.
↑ Steinhart, Daniel. (2019). Runaway Hollywood: Internationalizing Postwar Production and Location Shooting. University of California Press. p. 83. ISBN978-0-52-029864-4.
↑ Fausto Montesanti, at the time director of the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, in Sperduti nel buio... a mezzogiorno, article appeared on Bianco e nero, n. 6, of June 1953
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
