The ‘European Film Day’ in Venice: between film festivals and European media policies (1956-1960)

Abstract

ABSTRACT In an entagled historiographical frame - at the crossroads of the history of film festivals and the cultural history of European integration – the object of the present article is the study of the “European Film Day” (Giornata del film europeo) held as part of the Venice Film Festival between 1956 and 1960. The article’s purposes are, firstly, to understand the reasons leading to the organization of the event; secondly, to establish the role of the governing bodies in the Venice Film Festival and the European institutions in the conception of the initiative; finally, to determine the causes bringing the experience to an end. The study of the EFD shows the ambivalent relationship between VFF director Ammannati and European institutions involved in cinematic activities those years. Ammannati was strategic in his quick organisation of the first EFD in 1956, after having learnt of the European institutions’ project to award the prize in other film festivals. Italian director’s tactics formed part of the long-standing strategy in the competition between international film festivals. After 1960, the Day was no longer organized. The end of Ammannati’s management and the insufficient involvement of European institutions represent the main reasons of its quickly ending. Main research sources come from ASAC (Archivio Storico delle Arti Contemporanee).