Ion Filotti Cantacuzino
Encyclopedia
Ion Filotti Cantacuzino or Ion I. Cantacuzino (b. November 7, 1908, Bucharest, Romania, d. August 27, 1975, Bucharest, Romania) was a Romania
n film producer
, film producer
, writer
and psychiatrist
.
Ion Cantacuzino and of actress Maria Filotti
. He studied
medicine
at the Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy
and philosophy at the University of Bucharest
he graduated from the University of Paris
' Faculty of Sciences and Faculty of Medicine,
He married Elena Warthiadi and had two sons: historian Gheorghe I. Cantacuzino
and actor Şerban Cantacuzino
.
he started his activity as film critic in 1931 when he was appointed by "Radio România" and started the first broadcast critics in Romania. He also contributed with film critics to various Romanian magazines.
In 1934 he also wrote his first screenplay for a documentary film "Romania" - directed by Paul Călinescu
and Jean Mihail.
In 1935 he published his first volume about films: "The Fairytale factory" The same year, he published his only play "Dri-dri" which was awarded the prize of the "Society of Romanian Dramaturgists" (Societatea Autorilor Dramatici Români) for one-act plays.
. Besides coordinating the activity of the office, Ion Cantacuzino wrote the screenplays, directed and produced documentaries having cultural subjects: "The Peleş Castle
" (Castelul Peleş) - 1941 or "Old Customs" (Datini din străbuni) - 1942 or related to the war: "Romania in war against bolshevism" (România în lupta contra bolşevismului) - 1941, "Our sacred war" (Războiul nostru sfânt) - 1942, "We" (Noi) - 1942.
Ion Cantacuzino's ambitions were however related to the production of feature films. In 1943 he produced the film "Stormy Night" (O noapte furtunoasă), a comedy based on a play by Ion Luca Caragiale
directed by Jean Georgescu. He then created the Romanian-Italian film production and distribution company "Cineromit". The first coproduction was "Odessa in Flames" (Odessa in fiamme) directed by Carmine Gallone
on a screenplay by Gherardo Gherardi and Nicolae Kiriţescu.
The next production of "Cineromit" was scheduled to be produced in Romania. A second film, "The white squadron" (Squadriglia bianca), directed by Romanian director Ion Sava was released in 1944. The same year, Ion Cantacuzino, as producer, selected Jean Georgescu to direct the film "A Winter Night's Dream" (Visul unei nopţi de iarnă) based on a play by Tudor Muşatescu
. Due to the war, the film could be completed only in 1945. Another project which Ion Cantacuzino was negotiating with the Italians was a historical drama on the life of Stephen the Great
, based on a screenplay by Camil Petrescu
, starring Amedeo Nazzari
and Alida Valli
. This project had to be abandoned due to the war.
Ion Cantacuzino was also planning to create, in cooperation with the Italians a center for the production of feature films in Romania. The plans for the construction of the center had been designed by architect Octav Doicescu and the Italian government had promised to provide the equipment. The project could not be finalized due to the war.
However, he did not give up his activities related to the entertainment industry. He translatated various plays for theatrical performances such as Eduardo De Filippo
's Filumena Marturano
and George Bernard Shaw
's Heartbreak House
.
In the 1960s, without abandoning his profession as psychiatrist, Ion Cantacuzino was able to publish again. He finalized the volumes of memoirs which his mother, actress Maria Filotti
had not been able to complete before her death. He also wrote a book on the history of Romanian cinema "Moments from the past of Romanian film" (1965).
After his death a last film was produced based on one of his screenplays: "The insane forest" (Pădurea nebună), released in 1982, based on a novel by Zaharia Stancu
.
In his memory, the "Association of Film Critics" has named "Ion Cantacuzino Award" its distinction for film journalism at the "International Festival for Independent Film Anonimul" organized each year in Sfântu Gheorghe
.
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n film producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
, film producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
, writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and psychiatrist
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
.
Biographic data
Ion Filotti Cantacuzino, born in Bucharest on November 7, 1908, was the son of princePrince
Prince is a general term for a ruler, monarch or member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess...
Ion Cantacuzino and of actress Maria Filotti
Maria Filotti
Maria Filotti was a Romanian actress of Greek origin...
. He studied
medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
at the Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy
Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy
Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy is a state-run health sciences University in Bucharest, Romania. It is the largest institution of its kind in Romania with over 2.865 employees, 1.654 teachers and over 4.800 students...
and philosophy at the University of Bucharest
University of Bucharest
The University of Bucharest , in Romania, is a university founded in 1864 by decree of Prince Alexander John Cuza to convert the former Saint Sava Academy into the current University of Bucharest.-Presentation:...
he graduated from the University of Paris
University of Paris
The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...
' Faculty of Sciences and Faculty of Medicine,
He married Elena Warthiadi and had two sons: historian Gheorghe I. Cantacuzino
Gheorghe I. Cantacuzino
Gheorghe I. Cantacuzino is a Romanian historian and archeologist.Gheorghe I. Cantacuzino studied at the Sfântul Sava High School, graduating in 1954. Thereafter he attended the courses of the Faculty of History at the University of Bucharest, specializing in history of the antiquity and archeology...
and actor Şerban Cantacuzino
Șerban Cantacuzino (actor)
Prince Şerban Cantacuzino was a Romanian prince and actor, who appeared in more than a dozen television, film and musical roles during his career...
.
Activity as writer and film critic
His first publication is the short story “De Amore Paradox” published first in 1929 in the magazine “Excelsior”. It was reprinted as a separate volume in 1935 with 18 illustrations by W. Siegfried. Interested in cinematographyCinematography
Cinematography is the making of lighting and camera choices when recording photographic images for cinema. It is closely related to the art of still photography...
he started his activity as film critic in 1931 when he was appointed by "Radio România" and started the first broadcast critics in Romania. He also contributed with film critics to various Romanian magazines.
In 1934 he also wrote his first screenplay for a documentary film "Romania" - directed by Paul Călinescu
Paul Calinescu
Paul Călinescu was a Romanian film director and screenwriter. He directed 14 films between 1934 and 1964.-External links:...
and Jean Mihail.
In 1935 he published his first volume about films: "The Fairytale factory" The same year, he published his only play "Dri-dri" which was awarded the prize of the "Society of Romanian Dramaturgists" (Societatea Autorilor Dramatici Români) for one-act plays.
Film producer and director
In 1941, Ion Cantacuzino was appointed director of the "National Office of Cinematography" which had been created in the late 1930s. The main activity of the Office was to release newsreels about the World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Besides coordinating the activity of the office, Ion Cantacuzino wrote the screenplays, directed and produced documentaries having cultural subjects: "The Peleş Castle
Peles Castle
Peleș Castle is a Neo-Renaissance castle in the Carpathian Mountains, near Sinaia, in Prahova County, Romania, on an existing medieval route linking Transylvania and Wallachia, built between 1873 and 1914...
" (Castelul Peleş) - 1941 or "Old Customs" (Datini din străbuni) - 1942 or related to the war: "Romania in war against bolshevism" (România în lupta contra bolşevismului) - 1941, "Our sacred war" (Războiul nostru sfânt) - 1942, "We" (Noi) - 1942.
Ion Cantacuzino's ambitions were however related to the production of feature films. In 1943 he produced the film "Stormy Night" (O noapte furtunoasă), a comedy based on a play by Ion Luca Caragiale
Ion Luca Caragiale
Ion Luca Caragiale was a Wallachian-born Romanian playwright, short story writer, poet, theater manager, political commentator and journalist...
directed by Jean Georgescu. He then created the Romanian-Italian film production and distribution company "Cineromit". The first coproduction was "Odessa in Flames" (Odessa in fiamme) directed by Carmine Gallone
Carmine Gallone
Carmine Gallone was an early acclaimed Italian film director, screenwriter, and film producer. Considered one of Italian cinema's top early directors, he directed over 120 films in his fifty year career between 1913 and 1963.-Filmography:*Il bacio di Cirano *La donna nuda *Senza colpa! *Fior di...
on a screenplay by Gherardo Gherardi and Nicolae Kiriţescu.
The next production of "Cineromit" was scheduled to be produced in Romania. A second film, "The white squadron" (Squadriglia bianca), directed by Romanian director Ion Sava was released in 1944. The same year, Ion Cantacuzino, as producer, selected Jean Georgescu to direct the film "A Winter Night's Dream" (Visul unei nopţi de iarnă) based on a play by Tudor Muşatescu
Tudor Musatescu
Tudor Muşatescu was a Romanian playwright and short story writer, best known for his humorous prose.-Biography:Muşatescu was born in Câmpulung to a family of middle-class intellectuals — his father was a lawyer while his mother was a writer. He began writing during his early years in school...
. Due to the war, the film could be completed only in 1945. Another project which Ion Cantacuzino was negotiating with the Italians was a historical drama on the life of Stephen the Great
Stephen III of Moldavia
Stephen III of Moldavia was Prince of Moldavia between 1457 and 1504 and the most prominent representative of the House of Mușat.During his reign, he strengthened Moldavia and maintained its independence against the ambitions of Hungary, Poland, and the...
, based on a screenplay by Camil Petrescu
Camil Petrescu
Camil Petrescu was a Romanian playwright, novelist, philosopher and poet. He marked the end of the traditional novel era and laid the foundation of the modern novel era.- Life :...
, starring Amedeo Nazzari
Amedeo Nazzari
Amedeo Nazzari was an Italian actor.Star of Italian cinema during the 40's and 50's. He made several melodramas with Raffaello Matarazzo, such as Catene in 1949...
and Alida Valli
Alida Valli
Alida Valli , sometimes simply credited as Valli, was an Italian actress who appeared in more than 100 films, including Mario Soldati's Piccolo mondo antico, Alfred Hitchcock's The Paradine Case, Carol Reed's The Third Man, Michelangelo Antonioni's Il Grido, Luchino Visconti's Senso, Bernardo...
. This project had to be abandoned due to the war.
Ion Cantacuzino was also planning to create, in cooperation with the Italians a center for the production of feature films in Romania. The plans for the construction of the center had been designed by architect Octav Doicescu and the Italian government had promised to provide the equipment. The project could not be finalized due to the war.
Activity after 1945
After the rise to power of the communist regime in Romania, Ion Cantacuzino was blacklisted, because of both his aristocratic background and his antisoviet attitude during the war years. He was arrested for a short time. After his release, he reverted to his second profession and worked for the rest of his life as a psychiatrist at the "Brâncovenesc Hospital" in Bucharest.However, he did not give up his activities related to the entertainment industry. He translatated various plays for theatrical performances such as Eduardo De Filippo
Eduardo De Filippo
Eduardo De Filippo was an Italian actor, playwright, screenwriter, author and poet, best known for his Neapolitan works Filumena Marturano and Napoli Milionaria.-Biography:...
's Filumena Marturano
Filumena Marturano
Filumena Marturano is a play written in 1946 by Italian playwright and philosopher Eduardo De Filippo.-Plot:The curtain opens on Domenico Soriano, 50, a wealthy Neapolitan shop-keeper who is raging against Filumena, 48, a former prostitute...
and George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
's Heartbreak House
Heartbreak House
Heartbreak House is a play written by George Bernard Shaw, first published in 1919 and first played at the Garrick Theatre in 1920. According to A. C. Ward, the work argues that "cultured, leisured Europe" was drifting toward destruction, and that "Those in a position to guide Europe to safety...
.
In the 1960s, without abandoning his profession as psychiatrist, Ion Cantacuzino was able to publish again. He finalized the volumes of memoirs which his mother, actress Maria Filotti
Maria Filotti
Maria Filotti was a Romanian actress of Greek origin...
had not been able to complete before her death. He also wrote a book on the history of Romanian cinema "Moments from the past of Romanian film" (1965).
Death
Ion Filotti Cantacuzino died on August 27, 1975. He is enterred at Bellu Cemetery in Bucharest.After his death a last film was produced based on one of his screenplays: "The insane forest" (Pădurea nebună), released in 1982, based on a novel by Zaharia Stancu
Zaharia Stancu
Zaharia Stancu was a Romanian prose writer, novelist, poet, and philosopher.Stancu was born in 1902 in Salcia, a village in Teleorman County, Romania. After leaving school at the age of thirteen he worked at various jobs. In 1921, with the help of Gala Galaction, he became a journalist...
.
In his memory, the "Association of Film Critics" has named "Ion Cantacuzino Award" its distinction for film journalism at the "International Festival for Independent Film Anonimul" organized each year in Sfântu Gheorghe
Sfântu Gheorghe
Sfântu Gheorghe is the capital city of Covasna County, Romania. Located in the central part of the country and in the historical region of Transylvania, it lies on the Olt River in a valley between the Baraolt Mountains and Bodoc Mountains...
.