Cinematic Rome Certificate 

Live as you dream of 
The city of Rome hosts the Cinecittà Studios, the largest film and television production facility in continental Europe and the centre of the Italian cinema, where a large number of today’s biggest box office hits are filmed. Cinecittà is second only to Hollywood, with well over 5,000 professionals, and it is the only studio in the world with pre-production, production, and full post-production facilities on one lot, allowing directors and producers to walk in with their script and “walk out” with completed film.

Taking advantage of such concentration of knowledge, people and resources in the city, BAU International Academy of Rome offers programs aimed to transfer concept, tools and skills for creating and analyzing fiction and non-fiction audio-visual products for cinema, television, radio and new media. 

This program can suit the interests of a variety of students interested to positions such as directors of photography, artists, writers and scenarists, editors, television programmers, screenwriters, movie producers and advertising directors, producers of commercials, documentaries, trailers, teasers and music videos. 

What will I learn?  
Program contents include: 

• Film theory and history of Italian Cinema 
• The Italian Art of storytelling, Italian narration and genres, neorealistic, non-realistic and popular culture 
• Writing a script in different forms and formats, throughout the different stages of film making (opening – first/second/third act – metaphor – subtext – characters – dialogues – atmosphere and narrative elements) 
• Pre-production, production and post-production issues in the Italian Cinema through case studies analysis. At the end of the program students will be required to write the script of a short audiovisual product, prepare a photo-storyboard of the main scenes, produce and shoot the audiovisual product, apply post-production techniques, present and defend their project in class 

3 AMERICAN CREDITS, 6 ECTS CREDITS 

Option 1: Learn how to complete this certificate in 10 days, inside Italian cinema and performing arts

DAY 1

• Arrival, accommodation and welcome greetings 

DAY 2

• The Italian Film Industry, history and current trends 

DAY 3

• The Italian Art of storytelling, main narration techniques and genres 

DAY 4

• Script writing, team and individual exercises 

DAY 5

• Camera, lights and set construction 

DAY 6

• How to raise funds for your film, marketing and distribution through conventional and non-conventional channels 

DAY 7

• City Tour with keynote Italian author, outdoor shooting 

DAY 8

• Indoor shooting, wrap up and film editing 

DAY 9

• Audiovisual Product Presentation 

DAY 10

• Departure 

Option 2: Learn how to complete this certificate in a 3-months session, inside Italian cinema and performing arts

WEEK 1

• Introduction: Cinema, History, Nation
• Thinking about Film, History and Narratives
• Screening: Roma Città Aperta (Rome Open City, Rossellini, 1945) 

WEEK 2

• Class discussion: Neo-Realism - A historical approach
• Lecture and class discussion
• Screening: Ladri di Biciclette (Bicycle Thief, De Sica, 1948) 

WEEK 3

• Screening: Roman Holiday (Wyler, 1953)
• Class discussion: American Representation of Rome and the “Hollywood on the Tiber” 

WEEK 4

• Screening: La dolce vita (1960) 
• Class discussion: Fellini’s visionary Rome and reaction to Neorealism
• Visit to an Advertising Agency 

WEEK 5

• Screening: Accattone (Pasolini, 1961) 
• Class discussion: Pasolini’s Rome
• Excerpts from Mamma Roma, La ricotta, La terra vista dalla luna 

WEEK 6

• Mid-term exam 

WEEK 7

• Screening: L’Eclisse (Antonioni, 1962) 
• Class discussion: modernist Rome, Burgate and Hinterland
• Screening: Caro Diario (Moretti, 1993) 
• Visit to the AnnaMode Atelier, 60 years of costumes for the Italian Cinema 

WEEK 8

• Screening: Romanzo Criminale (Placido, 2005) 
• Class discussion: local representation of the dark side of modern and postmodern Rome
• Focus on Trastevere and its cinematic landscape
• Screening: Le fate ignoranti (Ozpetek, 2001) 

WEEK 9

• Class discussion: Global Rome, the space of different subjectivities. Ostiense and the Gazometro
• Screening: Nanni Moretti Caro diario (1993) (** il film è già assegnato alla WEEK 7) 
• Class discussion Meeting with a Cinema Director/Script Writer 

WEEK 10

• Screening: La grande bellezza (Sorrentino, 2013) 
• Class discussion: center and Periphery in contemporary Italian cinema
• Visit to a Italian Luxury Company 

 
WEEK 11

• Draft project fine tuning 

WEEK 12

• Final project presentation 

Tailor your learning experience
This certificate requires 42 contact hours and can be completed in 10 days, 2 weeks or in a
3-months period combined with city and culture tours, language courses or other certificates. 

Contact us to know more about the scholarships available through the BAU Foundation and to learn how to tailor your studies. 

• Minimum number of participants to activate the Certificate: 15 students 
• Accommodation can be arranged upon request 

Tuition fee: 900 € 

Application fee: 150 € that will not be refunded in case of visa denial