inVisibili. Le Pioniere del Cinema (Invisibles: The Pioneers of Cinema)

The exhibition InVisibili. Le Pioniere del Cinema (Invisibles: The Pioneers of Cinema), hosted at the Central Institute of Graphics, promoted by the Ministry of Culture and created by Archivio Luce Cinecittà, was born from the need to restore visibility and recognition to those women who, since the origins of cinema, have written its first pages.

In an era in which the cinematographic language was still being formed, the presence of women was crucial to its development: the pioneers of the seventh art were not simply extras in the history of a nascent industry, but on the contrary true protagonists, who were able to occupy creative and entrepreneurial roles, thus anticipating the battles for emancipation of the second half of the twentieth century. There are thirty women who imagined, directed, interpreted, produced and transformed the cinema of the early days, leaving a deep and lasting mark, even if often removed or forgotten by official narratives. In fact, it ranges from Elvira Notari (1875-1946), the first Italian female director, to the lives and works of extraordinary figures such as Giulia Cassini Rizzotto (1865 -1943), Adriana Costamagna (1889 -1958), Daisy Sylvan (1874 - ?), Bianca Guidetti Conti (1883 - ?) and many others, whose contributions have long been ignored or forgotten.

The exhibition, divided into 30 sections, each dedicated to a pioneer, presents unpublished materials, rediscovered films, period magazines, archive documents, private letters, screenplays, photographs and sketches, to provide a new perspective on the birth of cinema, in which women were an active part in every phase of the production process. Covering the most diverse roles and moving naturally from writing to directing, from editing to production, from costume design to distribution, some of these protagonists also founded production companies, such as Bertini Film or Dora Film, others directed films that tackled controversial themes, in contrast with the social conventions of the time. Finally, many stood out for their ability to innovate languages ​​and narrative models, building free, nonconformist and incredibly modern female characters.

Photo: Facebook official page of the exhibition