Anthology on Italian Independent Cinema: CfP

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Anthology on Italian Independent Cinema: CfP

David Moss • April 26, 2016

This is a call for papers to be included in the anthology Italian Independent Cinema: Legacies and Transformations : proposals of c.200 words, accompanied by a brief author bio, should be submitted as soon as possible to Carlo Coen (York University) and Anthony Cristiano (University of Toronto). Independent cinema in Italy has received only sporadic attention in the form of single essays on related topics; no systematic critical study in Italian or English exists. While in North America ‘independent cinema’ is generally defined as the creative and production practices standing outside, or in opposition to, Hollywood mainstream cinema, that definition fails to capture the different setting and history of independent cinema in European countries. The practices and meanings of independent cinema in the Italian peninsula demand the study of specific manifestations of cinematic independence.

The projected anthology intends to identify, document and examine the particular nature of such phenomena in the Italian context, spanning narrative, aesthetic, ideological and technological aspects of moving images. Its goals include: giving voice to neglected forms of Italian cinema and uncharted cineastes, and defining, examining and studying the cinematic panorama of Italy through a new lens – its singular attitudes and practices of ‘independence’.

Possible topics

• Studies of individual filmmakers, especially if unknown or ignored
• The historical character of the independent practices of Arnaldo Ginna and Bruno Corra
• A study of film(s) from the ‘Ipotesi Cinema’ centre of Ermanno Olmi
• The alternative (or avant-garde) cinema of Paolo Gioli or Marinella Pirelli
• The melange practices of Marcello Bongiò and the ‘1AmuLtimediaA’ group
• Independence as “a clan”: the autarkic beginnings of Moretti’s circle of friends
• The works of Italian film co-op centers (i.e. Rome’s “Formazione Radial”, Milan’s “Studio Azzurro” and “Mondani Meccanici”, among others)
• Degrees of independence in the neorealist masters
• Italian auteurs re-visited under the “independence” lens
• The independent character of Ferrara’s ‘Centro Video Arte’, its films and screenings
• Self-financed and/or personal films at the margins of conventional practices
• From independence to corporatization: the histories of former small filmmaking firms
• Independence as technological transition or turns: from film gauges to video formats
• A look at the emergence of new and independent video practices of the 1980s
• Examples of the ‘ideological’ or ‘oppositional’ character of (militant) Italian cinema
• Examples of the alternative subjects and styles of independent Italian film
• The innovative and trendsetting character of independent filmmaking experiences
• Essays on singular independent film or video artists (i.e. Antonio Glessi, Paola Calogero, Andrea Zigoni, Caterina Davinio, Paolo Rosa,Floria Sigismondi, Fabrizio Plessi, Antonello Matarazzo etc.)
• The remarkably ’rounded’ independence of Silvano Agosti
• Studies of the “Circuiti D’Autori” initiatives from Puglie, Campania, Veneto etc.
• Independent films screened at art-centres or specialized venues such as the Torino Film Festival Giovani
• Italian traveling film festivals and Italian festivals around the world
• Alternative exhibition and programming practices of independent Italian cinema (i.e. cineclub, cinema d’essai, circoli culturali etc.)
• The distinct character of independent Italian cinema within the European panorama
• The “Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia” and its impact on independent practices or experiences of single graduates
• Independent practices and cineastes aided by RAI as producer and Ministero dei Beni Culturali as a financing agency
• The role played by legislation (“Legge Alfieri”, “Legge Corona”, Fondo Unico dello Spettacolo, “Riforma” of 2004, etc.)
• Independent short or documentaries films, from both emerging filmmakers and masters of cinema
• New movements and/or ‘schools of thought’ stemming from independent practices

Useful bibliography

Allegretti, Elisa, Ginacarlo Giraud eds. Ermanno Olmi: L’esperienza di Ipotesti cinema. In collaborazione con CGS, Cinecircoli giovanili socioculturali. Recco (Genova): Le mani, 2001.

Amendola Alfonso. Videoculture. Storia, teoria ed esperienze artistiche dell’audiovisivo sperimentale / ‘Videocultures. History, theory and artistic experiences of the experimental audiovisual arts’, Latina: Tunué, 2010.

Aprà, Adriano. “La tecnologia del cinema italiano.” Paolo Bertetto, a cura di. Storia del cinema italiano. Uno sguardo d’insieme. Venezia: Marsilio, Edizioni di Bianco & Nero, 2011. 225-278

Baltruschat, Doris, Mary Erickson eds. Independent Filmmaking around the Globe. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2015.

Bernardini, Aldo a cura di. Cinema italiano 1930-1995: le imprese di produzione. Roma: ANICA, 2000.

Bertetto, Paolo a cura di. Storia del cinema italiano. Uno sguardo d’insieme. Venezia: Marsilio, Edizioni di Bianco & Nero, 2011.

– e Andrea Minuz. “Le forme antirappresentative nel cinema italiano.” Paolo Bertetto, a cura di. Storia del cinema italiano. Uno sguardo d’insieme. Venezia: Marsilio, Edizioni di Bianco & Nero, 2011. 117-146

Bondanella, Peter. A History of Italian Cinema. New York: Continuum, 2009.

Brunetta, Gian Piero. “From the 1970s to the Present – Cinematic Experimentations in the 1980s.” The History of Italian Cinema: A Guide to Italian Film from Its Origins to the Twenty-First Century. Princeton: PUP, 2009. 261-304

Cantini, Maristella edited. Italian Women Filmmakers and the Gendered Screen. New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2013.

Casetti, Francesco. “Il cinema italiano e la modernità. L’apertura degli orizzonti discorsivi, geografici e ideologici.” Paolo Bertetto, a cura di. Storia del cinema italiano. Uno sguardo d’insieme. Venezia: Marsilio, Edizioni di Bianco & Nero, 2011. 381-393

Coco, Attilio. “Film sperimentali per la TV”. Flavio De Bernardinis, a cura di. Storia del cinema italiano. Volume XII – 1970/1976. Venezia: Marsilio, Edizioni di Bianco & Nero, 2008. 414-421

Corsi, Barbara. Con qualche dollaro in meno. Storia economica del cinema italiano. Roma: Editori Riuniti, 2001.

D’Agostini, Paolo. “Gli albori del ‘nuovo cinema’ anni ’90.” Vito Zagarrio, a cura di. Storia del cinema italiano. Volume XIII – 1977/1985. Venezia: Marsilio, Edizioni di Bianco & Nero, 2005. 217-233

De Bernardinis, Flavio a cura di. Storia del cinema italiano. Volume XII – 1970/1976. Venezia: Marsilio, Edizioni di Bianco & Nero, 2008.

– “1970-1976: appunti per una mutazione.” Flavio De Bernardinis, a cura di. Storia del cinema italiano. Volume XII – 1970/1976. Venezia: Marsilio, Edizioni di Bianco & Nero, 2008. 3-26

– “Ipotesi per nuovi modelli di produzione e distribuzione.” 1970-1976: appunti per una mutazione.” Flavio De Bernardinis, a cura di. Storia del cinema italiano. Volume XII – 1970/1976. Venezia: Marsilio, Edizioni di Bianco & Nero, 2008. 478-485

Di Marino, Bruno. “Oltre l’underground. Il cinema di ricerca, il videotape, e l’animazione d’autore.” Flavio De Bernardinis, a cura di. Storia del cinema italiano. Volume XII – 1970/1976. Venezia: Marsilio, Edizioni di Bianco & Nero, 2008. 422-434

Fagone, Vittorio. L’immagine video: arti visuali e nuovi mezzi elettronici / ‘The video image: visual arts and new electronic media’, Milano: Feltrinelli, 1990.

– Michael Snow: cinema, installazioni, video, e arti visuali /’Michael Snow: Cinema, installations, video, and visual arts’, Lucca: Fondazione Ragghianti Studi sull’Arte, 2007.

Fagone, Vittorio et al. Arte del video, il viaggio dell’uomo immobile,videoinstallazioni, videoproiezioni / ‘Art of video, the journey of the immobile man, video-installations, video-projections’, Lucca: Fondazione Ragghianti Studi sull’Arte, 2004.

Fanchi, Mariagrazia e Federica Villa. “Sapere sociale, cinema e produzione di nuovi immaginari.” Paolo Bertetto, a cura di. Storia del cinema italiano. Uno sguardo d’insieme. Venezia: Marsilio, Edizioni di Bianco & Nero, 2011. 433-444

Hoefert de Turégano, Teresa. “European Union Initiatives for Independent Film.” Doris Baltruschat, Mary Erickson eds. Independent Filmmaking Around the Globe. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2015.

Lischi, Sandra. “Senza chiedere permesso: il videotape e il cinema militante.” Vito Zagarrio, a cura di. Storia del cinema italiano. Volume XIII – 1977/1985. Venezia: Marsilio, Edizioni di Bianco & Nero, 2005. 91-102

– “Elettronica, videoarte e poetronica.” Vito Zagarrio, a cura di. Storia del cinema italiano. Volume XIII – 1977/1985. Venezia: Marsilio, Edizioni di Bianco & Nero, 2005. 457-471

Lombardo, Alessandro Paolo. Videomodernità. Eredità avanguardistiche e visioni ultracontempoanee tra video e arte /’Videomodernity. Avant-garde legacies and ultra-contemporary visions in-between video and art’, Roma: Aracne Editrice, 2010.

Madesani, Angela. Le icone fluttuanti. Storia del cinema d’artista e della videoarte in Italia / ‘The floating icons. History of cinema and of video art in Italy’, Milano: Bruno Mondadori, 2002.

Micciché, Lino. “Testimonianze e memorie degli anni 80.” Schermi opachi: il cinema italiano degli anni ’80. Venezia: Marsilio, 1998. 343-392

Quaglietti, Lorenzo. Storia economico-politica del cinema italiano. 1945-1980. Roma: Editori Riuniti, 1980.

Zagarrio, Vito. “I modi di produzione.” Paolo Bertetto, a cura di. Storia del cinema italiano. Uno sguardo d’insieme. Venezia: Marsilio, Edizioni di Bianco & Nero, 2011. 147-166

– a cura di. Storia del cinema italiano. Volume XIII – 1977/1985. Venezia: Marsilio, Edizioni di Bianco & Nero, 2005.

– a cura di. “Documenti. Nuove forme del consumo cinematografico: cineclub, cinema d’essai, Massenzio.” Vito Zagarrio, a cura di. Storia del cinema italiano. Volume XIII – 1977/1985. Venezia: Marsilio, Edizioni di Bianco & Nero, 2005. 601-622

Zambetti, Sandro. “L’affermazione del cineclubismo.” Gianni Canova, a cura di. Storia del cinema italiano. Vol. XI – 1965/1969. Venezia: Marsilio-Edizioni di Bianco & Nero, 2003. 446-455

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