The town was conceived in order to provide everything necessary for filmmaking: theaters, technical services, and even a cinematography school for younger apprentices. Even today, many films are shot entirely in Cinecittà. At the same time Vittorio Mussolini, the son of the dictator, created a national production company and organized the work of the most gifted authors, directors and actors (including even some political opponents), thereby creating an interesting communication network among them, resulting in several famous friendships and, beyond that, stimulating cultural interaction.

Notable directors that worked at Cinecitta include Roberto Rossellini, Federico Fellini and Michelangelo Antonioni among many others.

Italian cinema had only a small price to pay for dictatorship. With the approaching war, many works were produced for propaganda purposes, as is the case in many countries at-war.