Abstract

The article reconstructs the history of the Autori Associati, a group of screenwriters who formed a Company at the end of 1939. Cesare Zavattini was called to manage the company. In texts on the history of Italian cinema there is little, often imprecise information on their affairs. The memories of the protagonists themselves are contradictory and inconsistent. Through an extensive press review and reconnaissance in various archives (Cineteca di Bologna, Archivio Zavattini, Chamber of Commerce of Rome, Chamber of Deputies) the article highlights the objectives of the association – that of redefining power relations in the cinematographic organization, to formalize the writing process of a film – and the internal and external causes that brought it to a swift end