Di Domenico brothers

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 Di Domenico
  • Vincenzo Di Domenico
Francesco Di Domenico (right) and Vincenzo Di Domenico (left) with their cousin Giovanni
Born
  • Francesco — 1 August 1880
  • Vincenzo — 3 October 1882

Castelnuovo di Conza, Province of Salerno, Campania, Italy
Died
  • Francesco — 26 November 1966(1966-11-26) (aged 86), Villeta, Colombia
  • Vincenzo — 12 July 1955(1955-07-12) (aged 72), Barcelona, Spain
NationalityItalian
OccupationDirectors
Known forEl 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 assassins 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.

References
  1. "Francesco Di Domenico (I89)". Maurizio Abete. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  2. "Vincenzo Di Domenico (I101)". Maurizio Abete. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  3. Nieto, Jorge; Rojas, Diego (1992). Tiempos del Olympia (in Spanish). Bogotá: Fundación Patrimonio Filmico Colombiano. p. 132. ISBN 958-95510-1-7. Archived from the original on 22 April 2013. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  4. Silva, Hernando Salcedo (1981). "Entrevista con Donato Di Domenico". Crónicas del Cine Colombiano (in Spanish). Carlos Valencia Editores. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  5. Mora, Angélica-Maria Mateus (2012). Cinéma et audiovisuel latino-américain: l'Indien, images et conflits (in French). Paris: L'Harmattan. p. 73. ISBN 9782296997066.
  6. Romero, Diego Rojas (April 1997). Cine colombiano : primeras noticias, primeros años, primeras películas (in Spanish). Revista Credencial Historia. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  7. Silva, Hernando Salcedo (1981). "Fin del periodo "primitivo"". Crónicas del Cine Colombiano (in Spanish). Carlos Valencia Editores.
  8. Lorza, Juan (September 2007). Cine para el olvido (in Spanish). El Clavo. p. 24. ISSN 1794-4244.
  9. El'Gazi, Leila (April 1999). El drama del 15 de octubre (F. DiDomenico) (in Spanish). Bogotá: Revista Historia Credencial. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  10. Rivadeneira, Ricardo (23 January 2014). "El drama del 15 de octubre, Francesco y Vincenzo di Domenico" (in Spanish). Revista Arcadia. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  11. Zuluaga, Pedro Adrián (28 January 2008). ¡Acción! Cine en Colombia (in Spanish). Colombian National Museum. p. 30. ISBN 9789588250380.
  12. Zuluaga, Pedro Adrián (30 May 2004). "Noviembre 21 de 1915 : El cine que no pudo ser" (in Spanish). Semana. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  13. "Años de Cine" (in Spanish). Bogotá: Revista Historia Credencial. September 2004. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
  14. León, Juan Sebastián Ospina (2013). Discursos, prácticas, historiografía: continuidad y tableau en el cine silente colombiano (PDF) (in Spanish). Imagofagia. p. 6. ISSN 1852-9550. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 March 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2014.
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