OMEGNA, ROBERTO

(1876-1948)

Cinematographer and documentarist. Generally regarded as the father of Italian scientific anddocumentaryfilmmaking, Omegna began making films in 1904 using a camera supplied byArturo Ambrosio. His first "actualities" recorded the running of a historic automobile race (Laprima corsa automobilistica Susa-Moncenisio) and military maneuvers of the Italian Alpine regiment. After helping Ambrosio to establishAmbrosio Filmas a production company in 1906, Omegna became head of its technical department and sometime director.He supervised the making of over 100 films for the company, ranging all the way from simple comic sketches and psychological dramas to highly successful sword-and-sandal epics likeNerone(Nero, 1909) andLo schiavo di Cartagine(The Slave of Carthage, 1910). In 1914 he directed a number of films for the Centauro Film company, in particular the much-acclaimedChiavi d'oro e chiavi di ferro(Keys of Gold and Keys of Iron). His strongest passion, however, remained documentary filmmaking and in particular the nature documentary, which he helped to pioneer. Extensive travel throughout Africa and India resulted in dozens of fascinating documentaries, among themLa caccia al leopardo(The Leopard Hunt, 1908),Usi e costumi abissini(Abyssinian Customs, 1908), andElefanti al lavoro(Elephants at Work, 1911). In 1911 his remarkableLa vita delle farfalle(The Life of Butterflies) was awarded first prize in the documentary film section of the Turin International Exhibition.

In 1926, after the demise of Ambrosio Film, Omegna became the head of the scientific department of the newly formed IstitutoLUCE, where he spent the next two decades producing scores of award-win-ning educational films until his retirement in 1942.