Vitrotti, Giovanni

(1882-1966)

   Cameraman and documentarist. A pioneer of the Italian cinema, Vitrotti worked for Arturo Ambrosio and his companies from 1905 to 1913 (and again between 1918 and 1920), often in collaboration with fellow cameraman and passionate documentarist Roberto Omegna. After shooting a huge number of both documentaries and feature films for Ambrosio Film in Turin, Vitrotti made several trips to Russia and central Europe in 1909 and 1911 as part of Ambrosio's partnership with German and Russian film companies, contributing, among other things, his technical knowledge and experience to the development of the fledgling Russian film industry. On his return to Italy in 1914 Vitrotti founded his own company, Leonardo Film, which, however, folded within a year. He subsequently worked for Musical Film and the Neapolitan Polifilm company before being conscripted into the army and serving as a documentarist for the Italian armed forces for the duration of World War I. From 1921 to 1931 he worked mostly in Germany before returning to Italy, where he continued to make quality documentaries.