We meet Antonio Conte, the reporter and pioneer also in the Karlovy Vary festival of the short tourist film
At first glance, you would not call him a “pioneer”, one of those “brewers” all about ideas and enthusiasm that often have saved our country in difficult times. From his posture and appearance, and composed demeanour, from his calm and thoughtful way of speaking, he is more reminiscent of old aristocratic ladies, perhaps of Moravian or Austrian nobility, that you sometimes find when wandering between Italy and Central Europe. Not so, at the age of 84 the Pugliese Antonio Conte boasts an impressive “tourist” CV.
To say the word CV is actually a reductive expression, almost clerical, which does not suit his character. Perhaps the best definition is simply a “cultural animator”, a man of international public relations, journalist…
For almost half a century, in short, Conte has organized events. So far, nothing unusual… The “Public Relations man” as they are called today, grow like mushrooms in every corner of the continent. The difference (and what a big difference!) is that Conte did this job half a century ago, in a land and at a time in which things were not so easy.
Indeed, for many years, for longer than our embassies scattered around Prague, Warsaw and Bucharest, the real bridge with Eastern Europe, what was then called “Europe beyond Curtain” was him. He and his “Tourist Film Festival”, one of the few examples of encounters (and dialogue) between the two sides of the divided continent.
“The Festival was an idea that came up by chance in 1962. An intuition that I took from Confindustria”, the reporter claims now minimizing, having returned from Belgrade, where he picked up yet another “Lifetime Achievement Award”. Through the CIT, the Italian Tourism Company, the organization of industrialists promoted a “festival of film geography”, but he did so without much conviction. It was held each spring in Venice, with Professor Mario Verdone, yes, the father of the comedy actor Carlo, as the jury president. Mario was a great film critic, an expert among other things, of Czechoslovak cinema”.
- And what was the key to the revival of the Festival?
“I realized, contrary to what was thought, that in the countries of Eastern Europe, the governments were very motivated to trade. It was in the middle of de-Stalinization period, and there was a sincere desire to open up, to confront. I already had some contact in the East as a journalist of “Tempo”, the “Associated Press” and other publications. Given the lack of interest of Confindustria, I decided to attempt this path myself. I can say, after a few decades, that it went fine…”
- Scrolling through lists of participants in the different editions of the Festival, you will be astonished by the number of ministers, writers, directors from various Eastern countries, above all, Czechoslovakia… How did you get them?
“I followed a basic rule. I had figured out which buttons to press, and which topics to avoid. The first of the untouchable subjects of course was politics. Thus, the festival moved from Venice to Montecatini, I gave it a tourist connotation, almost as a promo documentary, we would say today. In other words, I wanted to pick up some “documentary” of nations, build magazines movies. No politics, no ideology, it is natural. That way, it could pass. I sent invitations to Prague, Vienna, East Berlin, but most importantly, I went in person to their Tourist offices in Rome. The direct relationship was almost always a winning one”.
- How did you realize the idea was working?
“The first year there was some skepticism. Some countries, I remember Bulgaria, systematically refused to send their work and the directors did not even respond to the invitations. Then, as always in these cases, fate played its part – a Soviet delegation came, led by the Minister of Tourism in person. We are speaking of the ‘60s. The Soviets projected their shorts, then the debate was sparked and the jury got to work. Among the magazines credited to the festival, was the famous “Welcome to Czechoslovakia”, which now of course no longer exists. Well, I didn’t know why, but the Czechs photographed me along with the Russian minister and put the photo on the front page of rotogravure. Obviously, it must have impressed the Soviets quite a bit. A few weeks after the festival, the representative of the Russian tourist office called me, proposing a trip “on my own” for ten days “to discover the true face of the USSR… I accepted, it is natural”.
- Therefore?
“Well, that trip was a kind of pass, a safeguard… to the logic of the “fraternal countries”, if Moscow invited me, it meant that the journalist Conte was reliable… The Czechs were among the first to pick up the message and they immediately twinned the Festival of Montecatini with the Tourfilm of Karlovy Vary, the international touristic Film Festival opened in 1967. I was placed in the jury selection, and stayed there for 30 years, even after the fall of the Wall. That picture, in short, had brought me luck…”
- How was the “Czechoslovakia” of the sixties?
“There was a strong desire for discussion. The screenings of the films were not only attended by professionals, there were also the youthful, fledgling filmmakers. The air of the “Czechoslovak New Wave”, the new wave of Czech cinema, was breathed, Rome and Italy maintained an irresistible attraction, they competed to be invited to the festival’s twin in Montecatini. There, the headquarters of the festival were at the Hotel Pupp (then still called “Moscow-Pupp”), but some events were also held at the “Thermal” or in city theatres. Soon, Karlovy Vary became the most important event of the festival circuit, with Montecatini and Vienna”.
- A lot of openness, and will to compare. Yet there were also some incidents, and some political pressure…
“Well… the atmosphere was very subtle, you had to catch the slightest signal to understand what was going on. I mean, I remember when I was supposed to reward, as president, a Yugoslav film… and Tito’s Yugoslavia was not exactly one of the most loved guests… Delegates from Eastern Europe made me realize with elegance that it was not appropriate…”
- Cinema and tourism as a tool for dialogue and peace. It is useless to deny it, even in politics. Who funded you?
“Basically, it was the government and the city that hosted us. ENIT looked at us like as if we were Martians. In those years, promoting Italian tourism in the East seemed crazy. Instead, time has proved us right, it seems. After Montecatini, the festival moved to Varese, Naples, Olbia, Palermo. The slogan was: “One Europe from the Atlantic to the Urals” and it worked very well…”
- In short, an almost official, and well seen channel of exchange. How did you resist the changes of the period and the perestroika however?
“I have already mentioned the “indirect” messages you had to pick up on immediately to survive. After the occupation of ‘68 and the end of the “Spring” of Dubček, I was very careful in the selection process. The main idea became to create a “chain of festivals”, one for each country concerned, limiting the purely touristic exchange. Along with Italy, of course, there was also Austria, which maintained a “neutral” position. Undoubtedly ten difficult years, up until 1980. Then, things changed. The atmosphere of thaw could be felt well before the rise of Gorbachev to power. To give an example, in 1985, a courageous film arrived in Karlovy Vary, which troubled the jury, entitled “Dialogue between cities: New York and Prague”. The comparison could have been subversive, and in fact the jury members did not waste time to snub the film. However, during a break, I convinced the delegates to change their minds. The film won first prize and was even proposed to Československá televize. This is to say that you perceived that people were becoming more open. Gradual and cautious, but steady”.
- After the festival itself, the members then embarked on a tour of the country…
“Yes. Among many memories I remember a beautiful Český Krumlov in spring. Another time, instead they took us to the north, between Pardubice and Hradec Králové a little seen area by foreigners. And then further north: the Sudetenland evoked memories of war. Instead, in their own way, they were a revelation. In Jablonec, we visited a company that worked with precious stones, the Ploskovice castle built by the Italian Ottavio Broggio made us feel quite at home…”
- More than twenty years have passed since the division, but I notice that you keep on calling the country “Czechoslovakia”. Nostalgia for the “good old days”?
“I work and I collaborate very well with the Slovaks. A small festival was held for years in Poprad, in order to promote the Tatra mountains. Yet, I have the feeling that the division of the Czech Republic/Slovakia was a purely political choice, which neglected the true will of the people. If they voted, possibly even today, people would choose the reunion of the two countries”.
by Ernesto Massimetti