The Beginning: Rome, 1965

In 1965, at just nineteen years old, Donatella Baglivo opens CIAK STUDIO in Rome and becomes Italy’s youngest film entrepreneur. She already brings significant experience from RAI, Microstampa and Studio Zero. At eighteen, she has already signed her first feature film as editor.

The Seventies: Growth

The studio grows rapidly thanks to prestigious projects. In 1973 Donatella Baglivo edits “La Città del sole” by Gianni Amelio. Six years later she creates the behind-the-scenes documentary on Greek director Theodoros Angelopoulos for RAI. In 1980 she directs the biography of Romanian playwright Eugène Ionesco. CIAK 2000 gains visibility beyond Italian borders.

Hollywood and Its Legends

In 1981 Donatella Baglivo travels to the United States and creates a series dedicated to Hollywood legends: James Dean, Montgomery Clift, Marlon Brando. Ten years later she returns to America to portray Marilyn Monroe, Rita Hayworth, Clark Gable, James Stewart and Gary Cooper. During this period she meets Italian-American director Frank Capra, who becomes her second mentor.

The Masters of Italian Cinema

In 1995 the monumental project “The Masters of Italian Cinema” is born, under the patronage of the Italian Prime Minister’s Office and ANICA. The goal: to create an audiovisual encyclopedia featuring the voices of all the directors, actors and technicians who made Italian cinema history. Today the series includes over 100 film biographies.

CIAK VILLAGE and Spazio Cinema Alfredo Bini

In 2010 the CIAK VILLAGE Association is founded in Rome, dedicated to training young talents from around the world. Five years later the operational headquarters moves to Montalto di Castro, to Spazio Cinema Alfredo Bini. This unique venue preserves the immense heritage collected over half a century: vintage film cameras, editing machines, Fumeo projectors, hundreds of original posters, 800 music records, 1500 costumes, a thousand volumes on cinema history and over 10,000 catalogued films.

Present and Future

In 2017, at the 74th Venice International Film Festival, Donatella Baglivo presents the “Officina della Cultura” project in partnership with Istituto Luce. On that occasion she donates all CIAK 2000 production footage to the national archive. Today CIAK 2000 continues its mission: preserving the memory of cinema and passing it on to future generations.