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Call for papers rivista Journal of Italian Cinema and Media Studies

Entro il 30 giugno 2025

Call for papers  The Tyranny of Truth. The Cinema of Gillo Pontecorvo per la rivista internazionale di cinema Journal of Italian Cinema and Media Studies.

La rivista pubblicherà un numero monografico dedicato al cinema di Gillo Pontecorvo; i saggi dovranno essere scritti partendo dalla consultazione e dallo studio dei materiali del Fondo Pontecorvo conservato presso l'Archivio Storico del Museo Nazionale del Cinema.

 

Riportiamo qui di seguito il testo integrale della CFP.

Per info: pezzetti@museocinema.it

 

The Tyranny of Truth.

The Cinema of Gillo Pontecorvo

CFP for a guest-edited issue of the Journal of Italian Cinema & Media Studies

Guest-editor Fabio Pezzetti Tonion Museo Nazionale del Cinema

Gillo Pontecorvo (1919–2006) has a relatively low profile in Italian cinema, partly due to the small number of films he made. Indeed, setting aside his twelve documentaries, Pontecorvo directed only six films between 1956 and 1979; the projects that never materialized were far greater in number. His films reflect a desire to observe history as it unfolds, using a method that problematizes objective facts in order to go beyond their surface, beyond the ideological masks that conceal the past and allow for its possible misinterpretation. Guided by his cultural background, participation in the Italian Resistance and membership in the Italian Communist Party (PCI), Pontecorvo aimed to uncover the heart and truth of events. His description of social contexts in Giovanna (1956) and La grande strada azzurra (The Wide Blue Road) (1957), his engagement with defining events of the twentieth century – from the experience of concentration camps in Kapò (Kapo) (1960) to the process of decolonisation in La battaglia di Algeri (The Battle of Algiers) (1966) – his criticism of colonialism and imperialism in Queimada (Burn!) (1969) and his analysis of terrorism in Ogro (1979) all reveal an approach to filmmaking driven by a ‘tyranny of truth’, grounded in meticulous research.

The Gillo Pontecorvo Archive is housed in the Museo Nazionale del Cinema (National Museum of Cinema) in Turin. This collection of archival documents, photographs, magazines, articles, newspaper clippings and publicity materials spans the director’s entire career, covering every phase of production on his completed films, as well as many unrealized projects. Equally important are the materials attesting to Pontecorvo’s activity as a cultural organizer, director of the Venice Film Festival (1992–94) and head of Ente Cinema (1996–99). Lastly, the archive includes sections devoted to his role in the Resistance and the Italian Communist Party, along with his work for the militant periodical Pattuglia.

Drawing on the materials in the Pontecorvo Archive, a special issue of the Journal of Italian Cinema & Media Studies will be dedicated to the films and career of Gillo Pontecorvo. Possible subjects for contributions to this issue include but are not limited to:

  • Fictional films
  • Documentary films
  • Unrealised projects for films and documentaries
  • Film projects completed by other filmmakers
  • Pontecorvo’s role as director of the Venice Film Festival
  • Pontecorvo’s role as head of Ente Cinema
  • Pontecorvo’s role in the Resistance, in France and in Italy
  • Pontecorvo’s relationship with the Italian Communist Party (PCI)
  • Pontecorvo’s activity as a journalist
  • Pontecorvo and his relationship with music

 

Please submit a proposal (between 350 and 500 words) for an original and unpublished contribution based on the study of documents in the Pontecorvo Archive, housed at the Museo Nazionale del Cinema (National Museum of Cinema) in Turin, along with a brief biographical note (about 150 words), to Fabio Pezzetti Tonion at pezzetti@museocinema.it by 30th June 2025.

You can find the inventory of the Pontecorvo Archive at this address: http://www2.museocinema.it/collezioni/fondiarchivistici.aspx

In the ‘Search the Collection’ dropdown, please select ‘Fondo Gillo Pontecorvo’.

The authors of successful submissions will be notified by 20th July 2025. The selected contributors will be asked to submit their complete articles by 16th January 2026. The articles will undergo peer review and, if accepted, they will be published in a special issue of the Journal of Italian Cinema & Media Studies.

 

Fabio Pezzetti Tonion is librarian at the Museo Nazionale del Cinema in Turin. He holds a PhD in Artistic, Musical and Performing Arts Disciplines. He has published essays in Italian and international journals such as La Valle dell'Eden, Bianco e Nero, Fata Morgana, North-West Passage, Arabeschi, and Acta Sapientiae.  He is member of AISRC - Associazione Italiana per le Ricerche di Storia del Cinema, and a member of the Editorial Board of Immagine - Note di Storia del Cinema.