The Centro sperimentale di cinematografia (Experimental film centre or Italian National film school) was established in 1935 in Italy and aims to promote the art and technique of cinematography and film. It is the oldest film school in Western Europe, founded in the city of Rome in 1935 during the Benito Mussolini era by his head of cinema Luigi Freddi, was and is still financed by the Italian government and focuses on education, research, publication and theory.