Prof. Dr. Francesco Pitassio
Prof. Dr. Francesco Pitassio
Università degli Studi di Udine, Italy
About me
I received my PhD in Film and Theatre Studies from the Università di Bologna-Alma Mater Studiorum, with a dissertation focused on film acting theories in Europe, during the silent era (dir. Prof. Dr. Leonardo Quaresima, 2002). During this period I regularly cooperated with the Bologna Film Archive. In Bologna I also started my career as assistant professor, in the Faculty of Humanities, since 2002. In 2005 the Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures at the Università degli Studi di Udine, recruited me as Associate Professor. Therein I was part of the Department of Central-Eastern Lanaguages and Cultures, where I acted as deputy head (2009-2010), and then of the Department of Cultural Heritage (2011-2015). I am a member of the Department of Humanities and Cultural Heritage at the Università degli Studi di Udine, and since 2019 Full Professor in Film Studies. Within this vivid research environment, I acted as Coordinator of the Ph.D. program in Art History, Film and Media Studies, Music (2017-18) and Dean for research (2019-2021). Currently I am the Vice-Chancellor for the Centre of Gorizia.
In 2015 I was Fulbright Distinguished Lecturer, and spent a semester as a Fellow of the Nanovic Institute at the University of Notre Dame. In 2021 I held the Chaire Roger Odin at the Université Sorbonne Nouvelle. I acted as a member of the Steering Committee of NECS-European Network for Cinema and Media Studies (2015-2019) and of the Editorial Board of NECSUS. European Journal of Media Studies (2011-2021). I am currently co-editor on the book series Eastern European Screen Cultures, together with Greg de Cuir jr. and Ewa Mazierska (Amsterdam University Press).
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6199-2889
Contact
E-Mail: francesco.pitassio[at]uniud.it
Resarch Interests
Film acting and stardom; European cinema; Cinema and cultural history; Media and collective memory.
Publications
Pitassio, F., C. Formenti, and S. Sampietro (2022), “‘What Am I Doing Here?’ Film Festivals, Awards Shows, and Stars During the COVID-19 Emergency”, Cinergie, 21: 21-33.
Pitassio, F. and L. Barra (eds) (2021), Studying Film and TV Actors (and Their Intermediaries): A Cultural and Industrial Approach, special section, The Italianist, 41:2: 249-283
Pitassio, F. (2019), Neorealist Film Culture, 1945-1954. Rome, Open Cinema, Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.
Pitassio, F. and C. Parvulescu (eds) (2018), Recent Quality Film and the Future of the Republic of Europe, special issue of Studies in European Cinema,15:2/3: 101-265.
Pitassio, F., D. Ostrowska, and Z. Varga (eds) (2017), Popular Cinemas in East Central Europe. Film Cultures and Histories, London: I.B. Tauris.
Pitassio F. and M. Locatelli (2014), “Vesna Run Faster! East European Actresses and Contemporary Italian Cinema”, in L. Engeleen and K. Van Heuckelom (eds), European Cinema After the Wall. Screening East- West Mobility, Plymouth: Rowman & Littlefield: 37-54.
Pitassio, F. (2003), Attore/Divo, Milano: Il Castoro.
Pitassio, F. (2002), Ombre silenziose. Teoria dell’attore cinematografico negli anni Venti, Udine: Campanotto.
My AGE-C story
Since my PhD I have always focused a good deal of my research on film acting and stardom, taking into account how performance, demeanor, narratives, and discourses around screen personas shape our ideas of what is being a subject within our society and culture.
AGE-C provides me with an opportunity to expand the scope of my research and consider how issues of gender and age affect stardom and celebrity in contemporary European societies and, conversely, how ageing actresses and actors and their personas contribute at refashioning ideas of what is being a man and a woman over-55 today. Notably, I am particularly thrilled at surveying and understanding how age and gender come into play in the production culture: How are performers cast? Which criteria operate openly or implicitly in assigning characters? What is the role figures below-the-line (agents, cast directors) or above-the-line (screenplay writers, DoP) play in designing careers and ageing personas? And on what terms do social discourses around stars articulate issues of ageing and gender? Thanks to the wide network of collaborations and stakeholders, I am confident AGE-C will productively tackle these questions and find sound answers.
