Milano Films was an Italian

film production Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, casti ...

company of the

silent era A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, wh ...

. Founded in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

in 1908, it was one of the leading Italian film companies of the 1910s employing directors such as

Baldassarre Negroni Baldassarre Negroni (21 January 1877 – 18 July 1948) was an Italian film director and screenwriter. He directed 89 films between 1912 and 1936. He directed the 1932 film '' Due cuori felici'', which starred Vittorio De Sica. Selected film ...

and

Augusto Genina Augusto Genina (28 January 1892 – 18 September 1957) was an Italian film pioneer. He was a movie producer and director. Biography Born in Rome, Genina was a drama critic and wrote comedies for the ''Il Mondo'' Magazine, under advise of Aldo ...

and actors including

Lina Millefleurs Lina (pronounced "Leena") is a feminine given name. Languages of origin include: English, Italian, Lithuanian, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Persian, Kurdish, Arabic. It is also the short form of a variety of names ending in -lina including Cat ...

Mercedes Brignone Mercedes Brignone (18 May 1885 – 24 June 1967) was a Spanish-born Italian stage, film and television actress. She was the daughter of the actor Giuseppe Brignone. She often played divas, and appeared in numerous silent films for Milano Films d ...

and

Pina Menichelli Giuseppa Iolanda Menichelli (10 January 1890 – 29 August 1984), known professionally as Pina Menichelli, was an Italian actress. After a career in theatre and a series of small film roles, Menichelli was launched as a film star when Giovanni Pas ...

. Milano was unusual in refusing to join the conglomerate

Unione Cinematografica Italiana The Unione Cinematografica Italiana (UCI) was an Italian film production and distribution consortium of the silent era. Following the end of the First World War, a group of eleven leading Italian companies joined forces in a single conglomerate ...

in 1919. It continued its own production programme until the late 1920s, but slowly declined in importance. By the time the company closed, the Italian film industry was in a general crisis. In 1909 the company constructed the Bovisa Studios, at the time amongst the best in Europe.Moliterno p.207 The studios continued to be used sporadically by other companies after Milano's demise, although filmmaking was increasingly centralised in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

References

Bibliography

* Moliterno, Gino. ''Historical Dictionary of Italian Cinema''. Scarecrow Press, 2009. Italian film studios Film production companies of Italy Mass media companies established in 1908 Mass media in Milan Italian companies established in 1908 {{IT-film-company-stub