Ente Nazionale Industrie Cinematografiche (ENIC) was an Italian
film production
Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...
and
distribution Distribution may refer to:
Mathematics
*Distribution (mathematics), generalized functions used to formulate solutions of partial differential equations
*Probability distribution, the probability of a particular value or value range of a varia ...
entity that operated between 1935 and 1956.
It was formed in 1935, taking over the former organisation of
Stefano Pittaluga
Stefano Pittaluga (2 February 1887 – 26 April 1932) was an Italian film producer, one of several figures who helped revive Italian film production in the late 1920s and early 1930s.
Originally a Genoa-based owner of cinemas, Pittaluga began t ...
and his
Cines
The Società Italiana Cines (''Italian Cines Company'') is a film company specializing in production and distribution of films. The company was founded on 1 April 1906.
A major force in the European film industry before the First World War, the ...
company. Supported by the
Fascist
Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and the ...
regime, the company began to acquire
cinemas
A movie theater (American English), cinema (British English), or cinema hall (Indian English), also known as a movie house, picture house, the movies, the pictures, picture theater, the silver screen, the big screen, or simply theater is a ...
, the company's holdings rising from 29 in 1935 to 94 in 1941. A major inspiration behind the company was the government's support of the growing Italian film industry. Consequently, in 1938, ENIC was given a
monopoly
A monopoly (from Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situation where a speci ...
over foreign films distributed in Italy. In response the
Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywoo ...
studios withdrew from the Italian market. This led to a major expansion in Italian film production in the following years.
[Forgacs & Gundle p.207]
References
Bibliography
* Bondanella, Peter. ''A History of Italian Cinema''. A&C Black, 2009
* Forgacs, David & Gundle Stephen. ''Mass Culture and Italian Society from Fascism to the Cold War''. Indiana University Press, 2007.
* Reeves, Nicholas. ''Power of Film Propaganda''. A&C Black, 2004.
* Reich, Jacqueline & Garofalo, Piero. ''Re-viewing Fascism: Italian Cinema, 1922-1943''. Indiana University Press, 2002.
Film production companies of Italy
Film distributors of Italy
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