FS 315 - From Cinecitta Studios to Real Locations: A Survey of Italian Cinema in Rome

The course offers the unique opportunity to study Italian Cinema from the birth of Cinecittà Studios in 1937 to the present, visiting the settings, studios and real locations where some landmark films were shot. The selected movies share the characteristic of having being all filmed in Rome, which can be considered the capital of the Italian film industry. Therefore, Rome will be explored through the eyes of some of the most influential film directors and revealed as a source of inspiration for directors such as De Sica, Rossellini, Fellini, Scola, Monicelli, Pasolini, Leone, Moretti, Virzì and Sorrentino.

The selected films will be discussed in class through an extensive historical analysis and a critical approach in order to understand the contribution of Italian cinema to the development of world cinema and the role of cinema in shaping of Italian society and culture. Students will visit the locations used to shoot the movies analyzed in class in order to understand how they were filmed and to learn the specific elements of film language and film techniques utilized by the different directors.