PRODUCERS AND PRODUCTION PRACTICES IN THE HISTORY OF ITALIAN CINEMA 1949-75

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Between 1949 and 1975 Italian cinema became one of the world's major suppliers of films. It was second only to Hollywood in the share it took of most European and several extra-European markets. With its numerous prizes at major festivals, it commanded artistic credibility. It also furnished numerous genre films. The reasons for its success are normally given as follows: the creative genius of a number of directors, the inter-relationship established between Italian cinema and American cinema in the postwar years, the pattern of European co-productions, the existence of quality middle-level productions, as well as low-budget genre ones, and the formation of a distinctive star system. However, the amount of detailed work on the industry is small and not systematic. The role of producers is rarely mentioned in histories of Italian film, which focus on directors, currents and tendencies, film texts and, more rarely, actors. This project will explore the history of Italian cinema from the point of view of production. It will examine the role played by producers in the film industry, study their function as mediators and facilitators in a complex situation of international collaborations, evaluate their relations with governments, their business strategies, their visions of cinema and the turning of these into practices, as well as their collaboration with directors, writers and actors. The intention is to provide a completely new interpretation of postwar Italian cinema by: exploring the real premises, parameters and conditions of creativity, challenging established distinctions between cinema as art and as industry, exploring individual profiles and modes of conduct, inquiring into the links between different levels of production, exploring the distribution and exhibition of cinema in a number of markets, and re-thinking the 'Italian-ness' of 'Italian' cinema. In many cases, producers provided greater continuity over time than directors or other professionals. They were crucial in establishing infrastructures and inter-personal patterns of collaboration, as well as facilitating multi-national collaborations and distribution. Due to their role, the Italian industry became a laboratory of innovative forms and flexible patterns of production that drew in investors, directors, technical personnel and actors from many countries. It set a benchmark for emergence of other national industries and determined patterns of multinational and supranational film production. This project is timely now for six main reasons. First, the personal papers of a number of producers, industry organisms and others have in recent years been deposited in public archives, where they have not yet in most cases been catalogued or studied. Second, there is the possibility, within the framework of the project, of securing the transfer of further papers into the public realm and of making these available for consultation. Third, the surviving producers of the period in question - which may be considered the golden age of Italian cinema - are now elderly and thus there is a limited time-frame in which their oral testimonies can be collected. Fourth, the climate of scholarship is such that questions concerning the role of industry and finance can be considered in ways that were difficult in a period when they were regarded ideologically (i.e. considered as capitalist deformations detrimental to the development of cinematic art); there is now a movement of interest around issues of production and co-production which is conducive to new research. Fifth, it is possible to assemble a group of scholars with the necessary skills to be able to conduct the research. Sixth, there is an opportunity for institutional collaboration between Italy and the UK which can bring about great advances in scholarship, in facilitating the greater availability of resources for future scholars, and in ensuring public engagement with the materials and results of the project.