Hallam Lecturer Peter Spence’s re-consideration of Antonioni’s L’Avventura published in Journal of Videographic Film and Moving Image Studies, [In]Transition

It is only in relatively recent years that it has come to light that the visionary Italian film-maker Michelangelo Antonioni commissioned and built a quite unique and extraordinary holiday villa – La Cupola – on the island of Sardinia. Working closely with the architect Dante Bini, who pioneered the Binishell dome system of building, Antonioni completed the villa in the early 1970s, some say as a romantic gesture for his then leading lady and lover Monica Vitti. At Antonioni’s request the villa and its’ whereabouts were largely kept secret during his life-time but at a lecture given in February 2018 Bini was able to reveal details of the intense working practice required by Antonioni in the development of La Cupola. 

Peter Spence’s audio-visual essay re-considers themes and characters in Antonioni’s classic 1960 film L’Avventura in light of Dante Bini’s revelations, while also incorporating ideas put forward by architectural theorist Christian Norberg-Schulz. The essay includes clips from L’Avventura as well as footage, images and sounds recorded by Peter on a research trip to the villa in summer 2018.

 

About [in]Transition
[in]Transition – a collaboration between MediaCommons and the Society for Cinema and Media Studies’ official publication, Journal of Cinema & Media Studies – is the first peer-reviewed academic journal of videographic film and moving image studies. 

Copyright: Media Commons

 

Peter Spence teaches film theory on the BA Film and Media Production at Hallam, and is Course Leader of the MAC Department Foundation Year courses. He holds an MA Screen Arts (Producing and Directing) from Sheffield Hallam University and BA (Hons) Politics and History from Queen Mary University of London. He is also a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.