Di_Domenico_brothers
Francesco Di Domenico (1880–1966)[1] and Vincenzo Di Domenico (1882–1955),[2] known together as the Di Domenico brothers, were Italian film directors who played an important role in Colombian cinema.
Francesco was born on 1 August 1880 in Castelnuovo di Conza and died on 26 December 1966 in Villeta, Cundinamarca Department.[1] Vincenzo was born on 3 October 1882 in Castelnuovo di Conza and died on 12 July 1955 in Barcelona.[2]
In the early 1900s, economic growth in Colombia led to the rise of the film industry, including the construction of movie theatres.[3] The Di Domenico brothers moved to Bogotá in 1909,[4] where they founded the Latin American film industry company (Spanish: sociedad industrial cinematográfica latinoamericana) in 1913,[5][6] with their brothers Giuseppe and Erminio Di Ruggiero and cousins Donato and Giovanni Di Domenico Mazzoli.[6] Colombian film historian Luis Alfredo Álvarez regards their initiative as the first organised attempt of a Colombian national cinema.[5]
The Di Domenico brothers created a documentary after the assassination of General Rafael Uribe Uribe, known as El drama del 15 de octubre which was first screened to the public on 21 November 1915.[7][8] Regarded as the first feature documentary film of Colombia, the reconstruction of the murder, the usage of the assassins in the film,[9] and the images of General Uribe's body caused controversy,[10] which led to riots in some movie theatres.[9] The usage of the assassins of General Uribe in the reconstruction of the murder was described by many newspapers as "disgusting" and that it was "criminal glorification".[11] The controversy that this film caused led the brothers to cut the most controversial scenes of the film,[9] before it was banned in Colombia and subsequently destroyed.[12][13]
El drama del 15 de octubre was considered a resounding failure of the Di Domenico brothers,[12] but was later described by newspaper Mundo al día as a blockbuster despite the poor image quality.[14]