The conquest of power. A look to hydroelectric landscapes of Alps through the lens of audiovisuals and cinema

In the early twentieth century hydroelectric exploitation represented a revolutionary opportunity for the Italian nation to emancipate from the slavery of imported coal, bridging the gap with other countries. The advent of hydroelectric power was also one of the most transformative key aspects of the “colonization of the Alps”: in this period the mountain landscape has been "under construction" both from a concrete point of view (through infrastructures, industrial and energy exploitation, tourism) and from a conceptual one. The mountain was imagined, conceived, conceptualized through a set of narratives, discourses and practices imbued with modernity, development and Nation. The interiorization of hydroelectric landscape as part of a collective identity was also made possible by the fundamental role of media and communication. It seems therefore interesting to reflect on the representations and narratives of the hydroelectric industry conveyed through television and cinema as a mirror of the spirit of the period. The chapter – after contextualizing the enthusiasm for water exploitation in the broader phenomenon of Alpine Modernism - traces the parable of hydroelectricity through the gaze of some audio-visual products: from the emphatic tones of industrial documentaries to cinegiornali of Istituto Luce, to the short film shot during Vajont construction until Marco Paolini’s “civil theatre” show. In the last section, starting from the geographical film Dove nuotano i caprioli, it focuses on the area of Cadore and Piave river, outlining some of the long-term and long-distance effects of the deep artificialization of the river.