Italians in Colombian silent cinema 1910–26: The Di Domenico brothers’ film memoirs and filmography

Abstract

This article is both a review of the legacy of the Italian brothers Francesco and Vincenzo Di Domenico and a historical analysis of their filmography (1914–26). On the one hand, it analyses Francesco Di Domenico’s memoirs, which offer invaluable insights into how these itinerant projectionists from Italy became the bearers of a European film culture in Latin America and the Caribbean. The article also reviews the evolution of Francesco and Vincenzo Di Domenico as filmmakers working in South America and Colombia by identifying and validating important milestones in the history of the country’s silent cinema. The aim is not only to reconstruct the journey and filmography of the Di Domenicos, but also – and more importantly – to recognize the significant legacy of these Italian brothers during the era of silent cinema in the Americas.