Filming oneself and History: the case of Chierici Family

Ludovico Maria Chierici approached cinema in the 1920s by purchasing a Pathé Baby camera. The father of the family passed on his passion to his sons, who became passionate about the medium and produced an astonishing number of films. The starting point is the family. The Chierici brothers' stories revolve around this: stories, events, meetings, outings and trips, documented very often with an amateur camera. Roberto Chierici, son of the filmmaker Enrico and nephew of Ludovico Maria, now recalls the history of family filmmaking by commenting on the images and recounting an unprecedented and exemplary story The story of the Chierici family is in fact a story that, as often happens, while passing through the private narrative of a family, manages to tell its own time and the History that looms over the contexts and lives of people. In fact, the story of the Chierici family is indicative of the value of the family film in that it not only traces the threads of a family genealogy but also allows us to recognise a historical context. In this case the Italian one that goes from the 1920s to the 1960s. A story that speaks to us of love, carefreeness, friendship and war. A precious tale that also brings us closer to the history of Italian amateur cinema, within official/institutional contexts such as the film clubs and festivals in which the Chierici family were protagonists.