Cinecensura

STATE CENSORSHIP AND RELIGIOUS ASSESSMENT by Massimo Giraldi

Ever since the 1926 foundation of CUCE – Consorzio Utenti Cinematografici Educativi (Consortium of educational film users), State and Catholic censorship in Italy have run along paths that often crossed over the years. At times, they also overlapped. The Catholic world understood the huge potential impact of film upon the people’s consciences in terms of education and integrity of the Christian morals. With the appearance of Monsignor Albino Galletto on the ecclesiastical scene and Christian Democrats coming to power in the Italian political arena – with Giulio Andreotti taking on the role of public representative of decency in the world of cinema – the perfect mediation between Church and State was then forged. Therefore, actual criteria for the classification of films were created. This net only loosened from the Sixties onwards, while a new Catholic moral also took shape.
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CENSORSHIP IN 16MM FILM DISTRIBUTION: THE CASE OF SAN PAOLO FILM by Sabrina Negri

In the Italy of the second post-war period, the circuit of sub-run movie theatres was fundamental for the diffusion of film culture. Schools, parishes, and film clubs would use the 16mm format to screen titles that had previously been distributed in conventional cinemas, but also those already made with substandard film. By virtue of affordable tickets and, above all, the possibility of reaching disadvantaged geographical areas, the 16mm standard managed to bring cinema closer to a great part of the population that didn’t have access to conventional movie theatres. Several businesses worked in the field of 16mm distribution, especially in the years immediately following WWII. Among these, the Catholic company San Paolo Film soon conquered a top position in the market. The following essay offers an overview of the work done by San Paolo over the second post-war period and discusses the censorship strategies of the company. In fact, San Paolo used to have its own revision committee, independent from the Ministerial activities. Its decisions cast an unusual light on the approach of the Catholic world to cinema.
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