Clerics, laymen and cinema: The troubled relations between the Vatican and the Office Catholique International du Cinéma (1948–52)

Abstract

Abstract The Office Catholique International du Cinéma (OCIC), founded in 1928, established itself as an influential institution that played an important role in setting the Catholic agenda with regards to cinema during an existence that spanned more than 70 years (1928–2001). OCIC derived its influence primarily by maintaining an intermediate position between its national member organizations and the Vatican. This intermediary position, however, was not built overnight. This article looks into the late 1940s and 1950s, when OCIC had to reassert its relevance in the post-war field of Catholic cinema and rebuilding its relationship with the Vatican was crucial to this endeavour. This article investigates this process, making use of the OCIC archives (KADOC, Leuven University) as well as documents related to the Italian Catholic Action, made available through the project ‘I cattolici e il cinema in Italia tra gli anni ‘40 e gli anni ‘70’ of the Università degli Studi di Milano.