Experimental Centre of Cinematography

About

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. It was founded in Rome in 1935, 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"). During World War II, much of the original production equipment was stolen or destroyed by the Nazi occupiers. Many attempts to trace them in Germany and the Soviet Union after the war were unsuccessful. Directors such as Michelangelo Antonioni and Giuseppe De Santis attended the school in the 1940s, and Marco Bellocchio would often visit during the 1960s. In 1955, it became a founding...