Cine de Papel. Cuban posters of Italian cinema from the Bardellotto collection

Promoted by the Department of Culture of Rome Capital - Sovrintendenza Capitolina, organised by the Centro Studi Cartel Cubano and curated by Luigino Bardellotto and Patrizio De Mattio, the exhibition at the Museo di Roma in Trastevere shows the origins and evolution of Cuban graphic design (also known as cartel cubano) from the 1960s onwards, in parallel with the activities of the newly founded Instituto Cubano del Arte e Industria Cinematográficos (ICAIC).

Between the 1940s and 1950s, the films shown in the more than 400 cinemas that opened in Cuba were mainly of European, Mexican and Argentine origin, advertised in a style clearly derived from the West. Founded in 1959, shortly after the revolution, ICAIC almost immediately distanced itself from the stereotypes of Hollywood and Mexican cinema, finding inspiration in Italian neorealism and favouring teaching and experimentation. The years of the Cold War and the American embargo also had a profound impact on graphic art. Foreign film posters were not exported and printing workshops, forced to produce new versions of film posters (los carteles de cine) for the Cuban market, soon developed a unique style that conveyed the essence of the film with creative freedom, originality and ingenuity, without ever using images of the film’s leading actors.

The unique graphic phenomenon of Cine de papel, now included in UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register for its role in 20th-century world culture, is illustrated by the approximately 140 works on display: 96 creative posters announcing the release of highly acclaimed Italian films in the Cuban cinemas, such as “Juliet of the Spirits”, “We All Loved Each Other So Much” and “Red Desert”, as well as layouts, sketches and Italian posters.