Presentazione

Italy / 52′ / Colour/ 2009

Genre Documentary
Director G.De Antoni, O.De Fornari
Production company La Cineteca del Friuli
Website cinetecadelfriuli.org

The Friulian-born Antonio Centa (1907, Maniago 1979, Rovigo) was a star of Italian cinema in the years between 1935 and 1943. On screen he flirted with Assia Noris, Alida Valli, Luisa Ferida, enjoyed a manly friendship with Fosco Giachetti, fist-fought with Gino Cervi and was directed by Genina, Blasetti, Castellani, Soldati, Righelli, Camerini… His name was on the posters of films such as Lo squadrone bianco, Un colpo di pistola, Fari nella nebbia, T’amerò sempre. Then suddenly, in 1943, the star was eclipsed when Centa returned home to Friuli. He reappeared on screen in 1945, looking somewhat weighed down and in secondary roles, albeit in notable films such as Assunta Spina by Mattoli and Una vita difficile by Dino Risi. Centa’s personality, his place in Italian cinema and also his private life – not always illuminated by reflectors, and indeed in some respect still shrouded in mystery – are the subject of this documentary by Gloria De Antoni and Oreste De Fornari, produced by the Cineteca del Friuli in 2009. What emerges is a prismatic portrait, many-faceted, in monochrome and in colour, of a man who reflected the dreams of a generation and the style of an era. Among those who recall their memories of him are the late Mario Monicelli, Dino Risi and Suso Cecchi D’Amico.

Supported for the Development

Credits

Regia/Director: Gloria De Antoni, Oreste De Fornari
Montaggio/Editor: Letizia Caudullo
Musica originale/Music: Massimo Cigaina
Suono/Sound: Riccardo Spagnol
Produzione: La Cineteca del Friuli