The Afterlives of Roberto Rossellini's Paisan (1946) - An Interdisciplinary Conference
Rome, Italy
Organization: Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia
Call for Abstracts
The Afterlives of Roberto Rossellini’s Paisan (1946)
Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia, Rome (Italy)
September 17-18, 2026
The Afterlives of Roberto Rossellini’s Paisan is an interdisciplinary conference that investigates the legacy of Rossellini’s seminal film, focusing on its influence and overlooked aspects of its making and reception across Italy and internationally. The conference will be held at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome, on September 17-18, 2026, as the year marks the 80th anniversary of the film’s release. Following the conference, we anticipate producing a special, peer-reviewed issue of the Journal of Italian Cinema and Media Studies (Intellect, UK), which will feature edited articles derived from the conference papers.
One of the most influential films in the history of cinema, and a landmark of Italian neorealism, Paisan depicts the Allied progress from the southern to the northern part of Italy during World War II. Relying on documentary effects, on-location shooting, and a mix of professional and nonprofessional actors, the film emphasized social content and historical actuality. While giving spectators a realistic view of the battle for the liberation of Italy, it also aimed at a more philosophical theme, namely, the encounter of two distinct cultures, Italian and American.
This conference convenes humanists from various disciplines to explore questions that extend beyond film history and criticism, examining the contribution of Rossellini’s film to our understanding of World War II, the Allied occupation of Italy, and the pressing social and cultural issues of the immediate postwar era on both sides of the Atlantic.
The event will be free and open to the public, with sessions tentatively divided into themes that include, but are not limited to: “Contextualizing Paisan” focusing on Rossellini’s films, neorealist cinema, transatlantic cinematic ventures in the years 1943-1947, the Allied occupation of Italy during World War II, Italy-U.S. economic and cultural relations in the postwar years; “Production, Distribution and Reception of Paisan”, including analyses of the collaborative dynamics that shaped the film, alongside discussions of recent archival findings; “Rediscovering / Actualizing Paisan”, centering on the film’s legacy and renewed efforts to interpret the film with modern sensitivity.
The themes mentioned above are not intended to be prescriptive. The aim of the conference is to foster research that analyzes and offers new perspectives on the film, encouraging diverse research approaches. All relevant submissions will be considered. Proposals will be structured for a 20-minute presentation, followed by Q&A.
Please submit your abstract – in Word or PDF format - to cromanelli@ua.edu, stefano.dellacasa@virgilio.it, and domenico.monetti@fondazionecsc.it by March 30, 2026. Abstracts should be 250-300 words, written in either English or Italian.
Claudia Romanelli