When TV came to Melbourne in 1956, it nearly killed off suburban cinemas... but did you know that Italian language film screenings helped keep the city's movie culture alive? 

Enterprising Italian Australians, like Antonio Zeccola (founder of Palace Cinemas), took over the lease of struggling cinemas and began screening Italian films to enthusiastic audiences. On a Saturday night, Italian families dressed up to the nines packed out their local cinema, the Metropolitan in Brunswick or La Scala in Footscray. This was a cultural lifeline in a time when non-English language media was hard to source and movie posters played an important role, luring patrons into cinemas. 

This exhibition at Pentridge Cinemas in Melbourne showcases a selection of original Italian language cinema posters from the personal collection of Santo Cilauro and Antonio Zeccola. 

This exhibition is presented as part of a research project on Italian Cinemas in Melbourne: From Post War Migration to The Movie Show (SBS), with the support of ACIS (Australasian Centre for Italian Studies) and The University of Melbourne. Research team: Elisabetta Ferrari, Mark Nicholls, Santo Cilauro, Alice Garner, Agnese Bresin. For more information on the project and the Choc-Tops and Cassata podcast series visit  Italian Cinemas in Melbourne

Official Opening Event

Enjoy a glass of Prosecco on arrival, view the exhibition and hear from curator Elisabetta Ferrari (The University of Melbourne), prior to a screening of Bellissima. 

Pentridge Cinemas  
Tuesday 22 September 
6:00pm Arrivals for 6:30pm Film  
Book Here

Closing Event - Q&A 

To mark the end of the exhibition, see The Castle followed by a Q&A with Santo Cilauro and Michael Hirsh from Working Dog, to discuss the Italian flavour of this Australian classic with moderator Zak Hepburn. 

Pentridge Cinemas  
Wednesday 7 October  
7:00pm Followed by Q&A 
Book Here

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