The world of film clubs and amateur film festivals

In post-war Italy, amateur filmmaking practices spread at various levels, mainly in 8mm and 16mm. Cinematographers' clubs came into being, which on the one hand promoted film culture and on the other gave film enthusiasts the opportunity to try their hand by providing exhibition materials, cameras, film, space and funding to make short films. The possibility for film amateurs to make these films was linked to the Federation's central body that coordinated the film clubs and distributed the technical equipment and films according to their greater or lesser activity. Paolo Villa tells us about the production and diffusion of amateur films in the post-war period, the explosion of festivals and exhibitions, the role of magazines, the film amateurs' federations: a world that characterised the 1950s and 1960s in particular.