“De-italianize” cinema! A history of Italian film exhibition in colonial Tunisia

In her memoirs, Claudia Cardinale, the star of The Leopard, born and raised in Tunisia, recalls her late discovery of Italian cinema: “For almost all immigrants, Italian cinema [...] had become a new homeland. But this was not the case in Tunis, where we had no desire to claim our roots.” Under the policy of “de-Italianization,” the French authorities actively sought to dismantle Italian economic and cultural infrastructures in Tunisia following World War II. For Italian films, this marked the final stage of a long-standing celluloid war that had begun with the arrival of the cinematograph in the country. While the circulation of Italian films encountered numerous obstacles throughout this period, Italian exhibitors played a key role in the development of cinemas in Tunisia. The French conquest unfolded within a context of intense competition with Italy: until the late 1930s, the Italian population was, in fact, more numerous than the French colony, and the “Italian danger” lay at the heart of French concerns. This article examines both the strategies of entrepreneurs who were neither colonisers nor colonised, and their involvement in a film trade increasingly embedded within a colonial economy, as well as the growth of an Italian film culture, without presuming a direct connection between the two. Accordingly, this work aims to contribute to a broader reflection on the role of minorities in the circulation of films in areas considered peripheral by major studios. The social history of films shown by Italians, as well as Italian films exhibited, offers a more nuanced understanding of intermediary roles, revealing new film routes and diverse forms of mediation.

Morgan Corriou. “De-italianize” cinema! A history of Italian film exhibition in colonial Tunisia. Comunicazioni sociali, 2024, 3, pp.379-391. ⟨10.26350/001200_000220⟩ (lien externe). ⟨hal-04993890⟩ (lien externe)