Cultura e relazioni internazionali nella Seconda guerra mondiale. Per una storia incrociata del Festival di Cannes e della Mostra di Venezia

The topic of this paper is the historical reconstruction of the relations between the Cannes and Venice International Film Festivals on the eve of the Second World War and during its course. On the one hand, the paper aims to show the direct interconnections and mutual influences between these two cultural institutions; on the other hand, the contribution intends to reveal the variety of factors and actors (political, economical and cultural), that were involved in these forms of international mobilization. In 1938 the Cannes Film Festival’s idea had arisen in clear opposition to the Nazi-Fascist drift of the Venice Mostra, but its first edition was cancelled because of the German invasion of Poland. Despite this, since late September 1939 and also during the Nazi-Fascist occupation and the Vichy regime, French organizers tried to find a form of collaboration with Venice officials in order to arrange both manifestations, without competing with the Mostra. This contribution reveals the importance of studying Film Festivals as cultural diplomacy’s tools for improving international relations even in wartime.