It was 1928 when Silvio Senis , a farmer from San Gavino , decided to open the first public cinema in the town. It was an open-air cinema set up in the courtyard of his house in Campidano. A project that also included an inn with some rooms for the workers and engineers who were working on the construction of the famous foundry. And from this evening at the Exma in Cagliari until August 31st the exhibition entitled "The cinematographic posters of the Senis collection, cinema and the art of illustration" which draws from this extraordinary fund and presents 26 cinematographic posters to the public unpublished works, posters, photobusts and posters - which trace the evolution of communication techniques and trends from the 1930s to the 1960s.
Anselmo Ballester, Ercole Brini, Sandro Symeoni are just some of the illustrious names who sign the posters on display, capable of telling the essence of the more and less well-known films. The exhibition is conceived and organized by Orientare with the collaboration of the head of the collection Giorgio Senis, the patronage of the Municipality of Cagliari, the technical-scientific consultancy of the Superintendency of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for the metropolitan city of Cagliari and the provinces of Oristano and South Sardinia - body responsible for protecting the collection. During the opening weeks the exhibition will be accompanied by the screening of a series of films. It starts on Thursday 11th with La terra delle donne, by Marisa Vallone, and then continues on 18th July with Donne di mining, directed by Roberto Carta, Portraits of family, directed by Manuela Tempesta on 25th July and finally Superficial tension, directed by Giovanni Aloi , on August 1st. The screenings will all take place starting at 7.30 pm in the Exma conference room.
Culture councilor Maria Francesca Chiappe is enthusiastic: «The Senis collection has great artistic and social value. Where there is culture and beauty there is a better society." This rich heritage, made up of 751 documents including posters and film posters, has obtained the bond from the Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities and is looked after by Giorgio Senis, 63 years old, grandson of grandfather Silvio, and the ambition for the future is much larger: «In these long decades I have safeguarded this rich heritage which goes by the name of the Senis collection and now my goal is to create the first museum of images and visual arts in Sardinia».