PHOTOCALL. Actresses and Actors of Italian Cinema

The National Museum of Cinema, in partnership with the Università degli Studi di Torino, pays tribute to the cinema of yesterday and today with PHOTOCALL. Actresses and Actors of Italian Cinema. This ambitious photographic exhibition, curated by Giulia Carluccio and Domenico De Gaetano, tells the story of more than century of Italian cinema through the faces of the protagonists who have made it famous all over the world.

From 20th July 2021 to 7th March 2022 the Mole Antonelliana will further underline its claim to being the temple of cinema by narrating a journey into memory filtered through the camera lens, which, with studio portraits, stolen snaps, set photography and journalist reports, traces over a century of cinematic and social life in Italy, a journey back in time that begins with the contemporary and concludes with the iconic stars of the silent film era. The role of photographers is transformed: from mere employees to paparazzi, from artists to fashion shots, interpreting the interaction between cinema and photography thanks to their relationship with the actor and becoming a go-between for the viewer.

The exhibition opens on 20th July 2021 to coincide with the 21st anniversary of the National Museum of Cinema at the Mole Antonelliana. Ambassador for the exhibition will be Sara d’Amario, Piedmontese actress and writer, who will also spend a day modelling for the photographer Riccardo Ghilardi; the photos taken will then be displayed in the exhibition.

Over 250 fine art photographic reproductions, 71 original prints and more than 150 shots included in the video gallery make up this exhibition of precious material from the museum archives (original postcards, photographic equipment, brochures, vintage magazines) together with works belonging to photographers, private collections, agencies, bodies and institutions in Italy, such as the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia-Cineteca Nazionale, the Cineteca di Bologna, the Istituto Luce-Cinecittà, Rai Cinema, the Film Commission Torino Piemonte and the Archivio Centro Cinema Città di Cesena.

THE EXHIBITION

The exhibition will be held in the Temple Hall, heart of the National Museum of Cinema. Two large screens will display a montage of red-carpet moments from the world’s most famous festivals put together by Rai Cinema. Beneath the screens, a glittering Red Carpet installation with photographs by Sabina Filice take a look back at some of the most glamorous and dazzling moments of any film festival, making visitors feel as if they’re living out a dream. Proving that dreams do come true, a huge enlargement of a group of Turin-based photographers will welcome visitors in an explosion of flash bulbs at the end of the Red Carpet. Just turn around, take a selfie and imagine you're a star!

The exhibition begins at the base of the spiral ramp and is divided into four sections.

The first, Contemporary Actresses and Actors, tells the story of cinema over the most recent decades. Pride of place is given to portraits, in which the camera’s eye scrutinises every facial expression and gesture, and full-length figures inserted into a backdrop of architecture and landscape. The feminine gaze of Sabina Filice is paired with shots taken by famous contemporary photographers such as Stefano Guindani, Riccardo Ghilardi, Stylaz, Philippe Antonello and Stefano C. Montesi, whose artistic gazes reveal an absolute complicity between actor and photographer, both on set and in posed photos.

The second section – consisting of the colourful Pop Divas and strictly black and white portraits of Italian Men – continues with the golden age of Italian cinema and focuses on the phenomenon of the star system during the 50s and 60s, which made “Hollywood on the Tiber” the centre of the film world.

The third part, Icons of Rebirth and Author’s Portrait, illustrates the protagonists of the rebirth of the second post-war period, the great Cinecittà actors, from the early days of sound film to the post-war period.

The fourth section, Birth of Stardom is dedicated to silent film of the 10s and 20s, to the first stars immortalised by black and white or sepia photographs.

At the end of the four sections, an entire floor is dedicated to six detailed themes: projections and the video gallery are included alongside artistic projects that revolve around the close and complex relationship between photographer, actor and cinema. These include, Sguardi D’Attore by Stefano Guindani, the CliCiak Scatti di cinema set photography competition, Prove di Libertà by Riccardo Ghilardi and the precious original Giant Polaroids made available by Claudio Canova. The final room, Peep Show, is a tribute to the “magician of the nude” Angelo Frontoni.

One area is dedicated to Turin-based photographers who have kindly granted some of their images to the National Museum of Cinema for the exhibition: Francesco Del Bo, Dario Gazziero, Stefano Guidi, Gabriele Mariotti, Carlo Mogavero, Gianluca Platania, Alberto Ramella, Giuseppe Sacchetto, Renato Valterza, Sabrina Gazzola, Michele D’Ottavio, Pasquale Juzzolino and Maria Vernetti.

The exhibition concludes on the ground floor of the Mole with the Backstage! section, with photographs chosen by the Film Commission Torino Piemonte: a selection of author shots that aim to narrate the magic and complexity of film sets and the many professionals who work on them. Fourteen shots and some important actors and actresses who have contributed, over the foundation’s twenty years, to turning the spotlight onto Turin and Piedmont.

Outside, the railings of the Mole Antonelliana will offer something perhaps a little unusual: the imaginative and colourful brividopop (pop thrill) collages created by Marco Innocenti.

The exhibition extends into the courtyard of the Rettorato dell’Università di Torino, where ten large images taken from Angelo Frontoni’s important archive will portray famous couples from the Italian cinema world.

During the exhibition, the two CineVR rooms will screen the RedCarpetVR video made by Rai Cinema at the 2019 Venice Film Festival. Visitors will be able to experience the thrill of seeing their favourite actors and actresses walk alongside them.

Masterclasses with photographers, actors and actresses, curated by Stefano Della Casa with Stefano Boni, Grazia Paganelli and Mariapaola Pierini will be held from September.

Public initiatives and school activities will be held throughout the exhibition, while a programme of tributes, screenings and events will be held at the Cinema Massimo.

As part of a digitisation project for the use of content, the Museo Nazionale del Cinema has created a digital guide that offers in-depth information to be browsed or downloaded onto a smartphone through QR codes or NFC tags throughout the exhibition.

The guide, which also includes sign language content, can be accessed online on the museum website at https://photocall.museocinema.it

Opening hours and ticket information www.museocinema.it