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Count Giuseppe Volpi kicked it all off. A businessman and politician, he joined the Italian fascist party in 1921, just in time to support Benito Mussolini in his rise to power the following year. Indeed, he went on to serve as finance minister after Il Duce established his dictatorship in 1925. What he is remembered for though, is not his unsavoury political history, but rather for his role as founder, in 1932, of the the first ever gathering of film professionals.
Film festivals had their roots in the growth of film societies which became established in many countries in the 1920s. These were a reaction to Hollywood’s domination of film making and their desire to stimulate both their own national motion-picture industries and a spirit of independent cinema. These organisations emerged in countries across the globe and in Brazil for example were the only medium for producing locally-made movies. In France, business lawyer and cineaste Edmond Benoit-Lévy set up the first film club in 1907. Principally its intention was to preserve and make available ‘all cinematographic documents and productions existing’ and provide a projection room. Eventually, these geographically disparate groups would arrange international conventions to discuss issues of mutual interest.
Back in Italy the development of a home-grown industry became a matter of political importance. Mussolini was a supporter of the Venice Bienniale an international contemporary art exhibition which was founded in 1895. From that grew the 1932 ‘Exposizione d’Arte Cinematografica’, which is now known as the Venice Film Festival. The Italian despot lent his muscle to the effort as he saw cinema as not only a potent vehicle for propaganda, but also a means to popularise local productions internationally. In addition, he saw it as a device for propagating nationalism at home and abroad. Having control over country’s the media and particularly its most popular image-based art form, also allowed the tyrant to control his own profile and manipulate public opinion.
Though the festival began as a non-competitive event the Mussolini Cup was introduced in 1935 with Walt Disney and Bette Davis being early recipients. Given the political influence of Il Duce and his placeman Volpi on decisions made in awarding the cup it was inevitable that controversy would arise sooner or later. Increasingly, the award of the cup was made to films with a rightist political agenda. Four times it was given to Nazi propaganda films from Germany, for best foreign language films. In 1938 the award was shared between an Italian drama about a fascist soldier and Leni Riefenstahl’s epic documentary ‘Olympia’, which presented the 1936 Olympics as a showcase for Aryan supremacy. American and British members of the festival jury departed in disgust. French jurists were already upset. In the previous year Jean Renoir’s war drama ‘The Grand Illusion’, with its theme of brother hood had been vetoed for the top prize. They also walked out.
By this time the film festival idea had caught on across Europe. A committee was set up to explore the idea of a French event and the French government made money available. Cannes, situated on the Riviera was looking for a way to extend its tourist season into September. All of the pieces of the jigsaw fell into place and the town laid out its red carpet. It caught on immediately. Two of the year’s major Hollywood productions, ‘Only Angels Have Wings’ and ‘The Wizard of Oz’, were on the program. Norma Shearer, Gary Cooper, Mae West, Tyrone Power, and Douglas Fairbanks were on the ‘steamship of stars’ sent to Cannes by the MGM studio. A cardboard model of the Nôtre-Dame cathedral was erected on the beach, trumpeting William Dieterle’s version of ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ as the opening-night film.
However, there was a glitch. Hitler chose 1st September 1939 to invade Poland. As a result, after the festival opened that evening and screened Dieterle’s work, it closed again immediately and remained shuttered till 1946. After a couple of hiccups when the programme was cancelled in1948 and 1950 because of money problems it settled down in 1951 to become the most important and influential of them all. It has run since then in springtime, when there are more films available and doesn’t clash directly with Venice which now awards the ‘Golden Lion of St.Mark’ rather than Benito’s cup. That year also saw the founding of the Berlin fest which is reckoned to sell more tickets than any other of the film festivals.
The concept has become more widespead, varied and more accessible as the years roll on. Quirky names abound. The Rendezvous with Madness Film and Video Festival in Canada, focusing on mental illness and addiction; the Madcat Women’s International Film Festival in California, featuring female film-makers; Pordenone-Le Giornate del Cinema Muto, established in the north of Italy in 1982 and devoted entirely to silent cinema. The Telleride, Colorado festival which is held at an elevation of 9,000 feet keeps the programme secret till the punters arrive. One supporter, the Warner Brothers animator the late Chuck Jones commenting on the height of the town remarked that
“It’s the most fun you can have without breathing.”
And here in Dingle we’ll be celebrating, on St. Patrick’s weekend, the eighth year of our own film festival. Loads of features, bags of shorts and films to suit everyone. Get your tickets at:
085 2143153 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.