The exhibition “Prove di Libertà, photographs by Riccardo Ghilardi” moves from the Spazio Extra of the MAXXI museum in Rome to Cinecittà Studios from 23 June to 23 August 2021.

Prove di libertà brings an additional element to the Cinecittà Shows Off route as part of the summer offer and is included in the entrance ticket to the Studios permanent exhibition.

Alongside intimate and unpublished portraits of great figures in Italy’s cinema industry, taken in the months of the first lockdown, the exhibition includes shots of some of Rome’s most famous cinemas and iconic places in the city, empty of people. “It was a very complex project given the restrictions, but one we absolutely had to do considering that the Archive has documented the most important events in Italy’s history for almost a century. This was testimony we decided to produce as a duty to the cinema industry, its key figures, its environment”, says Giancarlo Di Gregorio, Director of Communication for Istituto Luce Cinecittà. “In recent years, also at the Maxxi, we have remembered the work of Francesco Escalar, presented the imposing work of Douglas Kirkland to Italy and honoured the King of Paparazzi, Rino Barillari. We wanted to preserve the private moments of this extremely difficult year through the expressions and situations, which we can all recognise, experienced by writers and directors”.

Alberto Barbera, Director of the Venice Film Festival, who has written one of the introductions to the catalogue (published by Skira) with Laura Delli Colli, President SNGCI and President of Fondazione Cinema per Roma, and the journalist Malcom Pagani puts it this way: “During the time of forced enclosure, each of us followed a certain number of rituals to keep anxiety at bay, occupy the time, and to free the mind from the chains, not particularly metaphorical, that kept the body imprisoned within our homes: busying ourselves in the kitchen, filling ourselves up with films and TV series, looking for escape in literature or conversations online, singing on balconies. Virtual escapes, hypothetical evasions, rehearsals of freedom. Like those which Riccardo Ghilardi documented with his camera, distilling emblematic moments in the lives of directors and actors as they dealt with the brand-new situation of rehearsing not a film but survival, pure and simple. The suspension of life in that enforced pause gave the photographer the opportunity for unprecedented intimacy, producing an authenticity in these shots that no posed portrait – no matter how beautiful or excellent – was perhaps ever able to provide previously.”

Riccardo Ghilardi explains: “On 12 March, walking through the empty streets I passed the home of a dear friend, who is also a fantastic actor. I couldn’t resist ringing his doorbell to wave from a distance, so we could share feelings. I took the first photograph then, it was unlike any of the “comfortable” portraits that I was used to producing in my artistic career. And the idea for this project was born. As a kind of “manifesto” for the cinema industry as it waits anxiously, studies and rehearses, longing for the moment to start again.”

The exhibition is organized by Camilla Cormanni for Istituto Luce Cinecittà, curated by Martino Crespi, executed with the support of Mastercard, with the support of the Direzione Generale Cinema e Audiovisivo of the Ministry of Culture, cultural partner Rai Cinema.

INFO
Open daily (except Tuesdays) from 10.00 am to 6.00 pm.
The ticket office closes at 4.30 pm.
Entrance is included in the ticket to Cinecittà Shows Off (the ticket includes access to the permanent exhibitions, guided tours of the outdoor sets, the exhibition “Prove di Libertà di Riccardo Ghilardi” and entrance to MIAC – Italian Musem of Moving Images).

TICKETS AND BOOKINGS
Booking is required so that visits to Cinecittà Shows Off can be organized in the best way possible, write to visit@cinecittaluce.it
Tickets may be bought online at www.ticketone.it or from the ticket office after confirmation via e-mail.

PRICES AND TICKETS
Adults €15.00 – Children (from 5 to 12) €7.00. Under 26/Over 65 €13.00. Under 5s are free.
Family ticket € 40.00 (valid for 2 adults + 2 children aged 18 and under). Family tickets are not available online but must be bought by writing to visit@cinecittaluce.it