Alberto Zambenedetti, University of Toronto presented his new book Francesco Pasinetti, Soggetti e sceneggiature
On Wednesday 18th of February—the day Venice closes its carnival celebrations— Alberto Zambenedetti (Associate Professor of Italian Studies and Director of the Cinema Studies Institute at the University of Toronto) presented his new book Francesco Pasinetti, Soggetti e sceneggiature. The author was accompanied by Carlo Montanaro, founder of La Fabbrica del Vedere, without whom the extensive research it has taken to bring this book to completion would not have been possible.
The presentation took place overlooking the Grand Canal, a symbol of the city where nine of the fifteen works discussed in Pasinetti’s ouevre were set. The view from the centre was the perfect backdrop for a discussion of a Venetian cinematografo who considered closely how the environment of the city and the lagoon could shape location shooting and whose work was a great influence on Michelangelo Antonioni.
In his book, Zambenedetti focuses on a lesser studied aspect of the director's portfolio: his unfinished work, both documentary and fiction. The volume explores the material in the Francesco Pasinetti Fund in the Carlo Montanaro Archive in Venice, exposing the great Venetian artist's irrepressible productivity during his short life.
In attendance were Warwick alumni, cinema enthusiasts, and members of the local community, who were asked to contemplate how cinema could have been had Pasinetti completed every work he set out to produce.
