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On show from January 30 to September 8, 2025, the exhibition “A Kind of Language: Storyboards and Other Renderings for Cinema” at Osservatorio Prada investigates the fundamental role of storyboarding in the multilayered filmmaking process. Curated by Melissa Harris, “A Kind of Language” traces the origins and evolution of the storyboard, from the 20s to the present times with over 50 authors - film directors, cinematographers, visual artists, graphic designers, animators, choreographers - and more than 800 items disposed of in the space with set design by Andrea Faraguna of the Berlin-based architecture office Sub. From the early drawing by Georges Méliès of Trip to the Moon (Le voyage dans la lune, 1902) to the dawn of animation with Fleischer Studios and Walt Disney Productions in the 1930s, to the latest animation works and films, the exhibition of the storyboards as pivotal tools for the development of the story.
For both the animated and live-action cinematic work, the storyboards can help the film team understand how to shoot the scenes, anticipate possible difficulties, and facilitate the actors in understanding their characters and the special settings. As Harris explains, they “help the filmmaker to determine the most effective angles for lighting and shooting or the best use of dissolves and other potential special effects.” They serve both a practical and a creative purpose: they are the director s first vision and trace the visual narration of the film, playing a crucial role in all the filming process phases from pre-production, to production, to post-production.
The exhibition space is structured in an optical funnel, composed of tables resembling drafting desks, each dedicated to an author. The visitor is guided through a sequence of drawings showing the different roles and functions that storyboards can assume: setting the sense of space or the mood but also outlining the protagonist s history and emotional sphere.
From February to September 2025, the Cinema Godard at Fondazione Prada presents a selection of films connected to the exhibition, including The Virgin Suicides (1999) by Sofia Coppola, Little Buddha (1993) by Bernardo Bertolucci, The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) by Wes Anderson, Raging Bull (1980) by Martin Scorsese, The Boy and the Heron (2023) by Hayao Miyazaki, The Image Book (Le livre d’image, 2018) by Jean-Luc Godard, The Great Dictator (1940) by Charlie Chaplin, and Amarcord (1973) by Federico Fellini. All the screenings can be found here.
“A Kind of Language: Storyboards and Other Renderings for Cinema”
30 January – 8 September 2025
Osservatorio Fondazione Prada, Milan
Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II, 20121 Milano MI
Monday 2PM - 8 PM Tuesday closed, Wednesday - Thursday 2 PM - 7 PM, Friday 2 PM - 8 PM, Saturday - Sunday 11 AM - 8 PM
