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Charles Babbage and the Quantum Computer

What do the quantum computer of the future and the Analytical Engine designed by Charles Babbage and presented in Turin for the first time in 1840 have in common?
At the time, the English mathematician presented his project to the Academy of Sciences of Turin, in front of scientists from all over Europe. His Analytical Engine would have been capable of performing calculations on its own, equipped with memory able to handle numbers up to 40 digits and a central processing unit. It had only one problem: it would have been enormous—at least 30 meters by 10—and the technology of the time was not advanced enough to make such a machine a reality.
Two centuries later, another extraordinary machine is emerging and promises a revolution: the quantum computer. But what are the challenges in developing it? Physicist Marco Genovese from the Academy of Sciences of Turin, interviewed by Silvia Rosa-Brusin, helps us better understand the current state of the research.

  • Giulio Maria Cavallini
    Director
  • Silvia Rosa-Brusin
    Writer
  • Chiara Mancinelli
    Producer
  • Elena Borgi
    Producer
  • Marco Genovese
    Key Cast
  • Silvia Rosa-Brusin
    Key Cast
  • Giulio Maria Cavallini
    Editing
  • Accademia delle Scienze di Torino
    Produced by
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    Charles Babbage e il Quantum Computer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Genres:
    History, Science
  • Runtime:
    8 minutes 23 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    February 16, 2025
  • Country of Origin:
    Italy
  • Country of Filming:
    Italy
  • Language:
    Italian
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director Biography - Giulio Maria Cavallini

Giulio Cavallini is an Italian director, photographer, and actor.

Born in Turin in 1993, he began acting at age 15 at the Sergio Tofano Theatre School. These were years of deep exploration and passion for drawing, painting, photography, cinema, and theater. After graduating from the Massimo D’Azeglio Classical High School, he became a student at the advanced professional acting school of the Teatro Stabile di Torino, where he graduated in 2015. The program allowed him to encounter various theatrical aesthetics and offered the opportunity to train within one of the most prestigious National Theaters.
He is the author, director, and producer of various short films including Il sognatore (2011), which won the Jury Prize at the Sottodiciotto Film Festival, and Conseguenze (2017). In 2020, he was director of photography and editor for Blackbird by Michele Di Mauro, based on David Harrower’s play and produced by the Teatro Stabile di Torino.

In 2021, he wrote, directed, and acted in the short Ratavoloira, screened out of competition at the 39th Torino Film Festival and winner of 11 international awards, including Best Fantasy Short of the Year at the Indie Short Fest in Los Angeles. It was the only Italian film to reach the finals, awarded at the Regal Cinema Stadium in Los Angeles in January 2023. That same year, he directed the shorts All’imbrunire and Ancora Ieri.

In 2024, he wrote and directed Fantastic Variations on Events That Really Happened in Turin in 1911, a short about the last hours of Emilio Salgari starring Valerio Binasco and supported by SIAE Per Chi Crea. He is currently developing The Theatre of the Living Dead, a horror-comedy short co-directed with Riccardo Livermore, featuring original music by maestro Fabio Frizzi and supported by the Italian Ministry of Culture.

In theater, he wrote and directed #max², which premiered in 2016 at Cavallerizza Reale in Turin. In 2020, he was a finalist in the Venice Biennale’s Under 30 Directors call with a project based on Roberto Zucco by Bernard-Marie Koltès. In 2021, he returned to directing with A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams, produced by Cineteatro Baretti, for which he also created a video version. He also worked as assistant director to Davide Livermore at the Greek Theater of Syracuse for The Libation Bearers and The Eumenides by Aeschylus.

Since youth, he has collaborated on art and history documentaries, handling video shooting and editing. In 2018, he created three short documentaries: Genio e Maestria and Ancient Instruments, Illustrious Figures for the Venaria Reale, and The Legacy of the Royal Madames for Palazzo Madama in Turin.

Passionate about science, technology, and innovation, since 2023 he has collaborated with the Accademia delle Scienze di Torino, producing historical-scientific documentaries with science journalist Silvia Rosa-Brusin. Titles include: The Great Journey, Lagrange and the Three-Body Problem, Babbage and the Quantum Computer, Schiaparelli – The Egyptologist Photographer, and The Planet Hunter – Interview with Nobel Laureate Michel Mayor.

In 2020, he co-founded the collective Fotogramma Zero, directing short films, music videos, and various other productions. The following year, he co-founded Freudstein Film, with which he produced the multi-award-winning short Ratavoloira.

He independently produces videos for Fondazione Sella, Confindustria Piemonte, Unioncamere, Scuola Camerana, and promotional materials for Teatro Stabile di Torino, Centro Teatrale Bresciano, Cineteatro Baretti, A.M.R. Company, and the companies ContrasTo, Asterlizze, Nina’s, Curtain Ensemble, and AMA Factory.

His ongoing collaborations with theaters have also led him to specialize in video projections for theatrical performances: Causa di Beatificazione (dir. Michele Di Mauro), La Storia (dir. Fausto Cabra), Favola (dir. Giorgia Cerruti), Non è più il tempo di uccidere (dir. Giulio Graglia), and Psychodrama (dir. Valerio Mieli).

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Director Statement

From the deciphering of the human genome to cloning, from gene therapy to stem cell research, to gravitational waves: Silvia Rosa-Brusin, journalist and Deputy Editor-in-Chief at Rai, has covered all the major moments of science in Tgr Leonardo, the daily science program on Raitre that she helped create in 1992— the first and still the only example of its kind. She has been able to turn science communication into journalism, demonstrating that science can reach a broad audience through the versatile medium of television. She has introduced the work and stories of hundreds of scientists, from Nobel Laureates to young researchers: the key figures in the long process through which science is changing the world.

She has also had a wide-ranging career as a correspondent, covering many of the most significant scientific events of the last quarter-century, particularly in the field of space exploration.

In 2001, from the presidential estate of Castelporziano, she coordinated the first live TV dialogue between an Italian President, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, and an astronaut in space, Umberto Guidoni, aboard the International Space Station. That same year, for Marconi Day, she organized a live broadcast from the Quirinale Palace, connecting the President of the Republic with Canada to commemorate the centenary of the first transatlantic radio transmission.

There have been numerous "specials," extensive television broadcasts: in 2004, covering the arrival of the Cassini probe at Saturn; from Kazakhstan, on the launch of the Mars Express probe. Also, in the same year, on the exploration of Mars, and in 2009 and 2019, on the anniversary of the moon landing, featuring interviews with the protagonists of that epic (Tg2 Dossier).

Following her personal initiative, in 2012, NASA took a digital copy of Leonardo da Vinci's Codex on the Flight of Birds and his self-portrait to Mars aboard the Curiosity Rover.

In the wake of this event, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs decided to exhibit the Codex for the first time at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, as part of the year dedicated to Italian culture in the United States (2013). Silvia Rosa-Brusin produced the official video for that exhibition.

Among her many documentaries are: the arrival of Curiosity on Mars; Talenti d’Italia, an investigation into Italian scientists abroad; Infiniti mondi, the first Italian TV report on the discovery of exoplanets, produced between Chile and Europe.

She published La Terra dallo spazio with Electa Mondadori. She has held conferences and lectures in many countries. The International Astronomical Union has named an asteroid (7396 Rosa - Brusin) in her honor.

Since 2023, she has been collaborating with the Academy of Sciences of Turin, creating short documentaries about key figures and achievements in science aimed at the general public. Among the many titles: Lagrange and the "space parking lots" (the Three-body Problem), Charles Babbage and the Quantum Computer, Hunter of Worlds, an interview with Michel Mayor, the discoverer of the first exoplanet, Evolution in Progress, on the surprising relationship between today’s society and Darwin. Schiaparelli, the Egyptologist Photographer; The Great Journey ; Silvio Curto and the Saved Temple, which are dedicated to the history of the Egyptian Museum of Turin.