Di Domenico brothers
Italian film director duo
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Francesco Di Domenico (1880–1966)[1] and Vincenzo Di Domenico (1882–1955),[2] known together as the Di Domenico brothers, were Italian film directors who played an important role in Colombian cinema.
- Francesco — 1 August 1880
- Vincenzo — 3 October 1882
| |
|---|---|
Francesco Di Domenico (right) and Vincenzo Di Domenico (left) with their cousin Giovanni | |
| Born |
|
| Died | |
| Occupation | Film directors |
| Known for | El drama del 15 de octubre |
Francesco was born on 1 August 1880 in Castelnuovo di Conza and died on 26 December 1966 in Villeta, Cundinamarca Department.[1] Vincenzo was born on 3 October 1882 in Castelnuovo di Conza and died on 12 July 1955 in Barcelona.[2]
In the early 1900s, economic growth in Colombia led to the rise of the film industry, including the construction of movie theatres.[3] The Di Domenico brothers moved to Bogotá in 1909,[4] where they founded the Latin American film industry company (Spanish: sociedad industrial cinematográfica latinoamericana) in 1913,[5][6] with their brothers Giuseppe and Erminio Di Ruggiero and cousins Donato and Giovanni Di Domenico Mazzoli.[6] Colombian film historian Luis Alfredo Álvarez regards their initiative as the first organised attempt of a Colombian national cinema.[5]
The Di Domenico brothers created a documentary after the assassination of General Rafael Uribe Uribe, known as El drama del 15 de octubre, which was first screened to the public on 21 November 1915.[7][8] Regarded as the first feature documentary film of Colombia, the reconstruction of the murder, the usage of the actual assassins as actors in the film,[9] and the images of General Uribe's body caused controversy,[10] which led to riots in some movie theatres.[9] The usage of the assassins of General Uribe in the reconstruction of the murder was described by many newspapers as "disgusting" and that it was "criminal glorification".[11] The controversy that this film caused led the brothers to cut the most controversial scenes of the film,[9] before it was banned in Colombia and subsequently destroyed.[12][13]
El drama del 15 de octubre was considered a resounding failure of the Di Domenico brothers,[12] but was later described by newspaper Mundo al día as a blockbuster despite the poor image quality.[14]
Filmography
| Year | Film | Directed by | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Francesco | Vincenzo | ||||
| 1915 | El drama del 15 de octubre | Yes | Yes | ||
| 1915 | La hija del Tequendama | Yes | Yes | ||
| 1924 | Aura o las violetas | No | Yes | ||
| 1925 | Como los muertos | No | Yes | ||
| 1926 | El amor, el deber y el crimen | No | Yes | ||
Their cousin Donato Di Domenico also directed a film, Tierra caucana, in 1921.