Francesco Maselli

Francesco Maselli (9 December 1930 – 21 March 2023), also known as Citto Maselli, was an Italian film director and screenwriter.[1][2]

Francesco Maselli
Maselli in 2010
Born(1930-12-09)9 December 1930
Rome, Italy
Died21 March 2023(2023-03-21) (aged 92)
Rome, Italy
Other namesCitto Maselli
Occupation(s)Film director, screenwriter
Political partyPCI (1948–1991)
PRC (1991–2023)

Biography

Born into a well educated family (his father was an art critic) originally from the Molise region, Maselli graduated from the Italian National Film School in 1949 and began his career as an assistant and assistant director for Luigi Chiarini, Michelangelo Antonioni, and Luchino Visconti.[1][2] After directing several short documentary and fiction films, he gave his feature film debut with the World War II drama Abandoned (1955), which premiered at the Venice Film Festival.[1][2][3] Following a series of minor films, Maselli had greater success with Silver Spoon Set (1960, also titled The Dolphins) and Time of Indifference (1964), an adaptation of a novel by Alberto Moravia.[1][2]

In the 1970s, Maselli turned to openly left-wing political films,[3] notably Lettera aperta a un giornale della sera (1970) and The Suspect (1975),[1][2][3] before shifting to more intimate films centered on female protagonists in the 1980s such as A Tale of Love (1986) and The Secret (1990).[1][2][3]

In 2021, Maselli was honoured with a retrospective at the Venice Film Festival, where many of his films had seen their premiere.[2] Maselli died in Rome on 21 March 2023, at the age of 92.[3][4]

Selected filmography

Feature films

Documentaries
  • Tibet proibito (1949)
  • Bagnaia, villaggio italiano (1949)
  • Finestre (1950)
  • Zona pericolosa (1951)
  • Stracciaroli (1951)
  • Sport minore (1951)
  • Bambini (1951)
  • Ombrelli (1952)
  • Uno spettacolo di pupi (1953)
  • I fiori (1953)
  • Festa dei morti in Sicilia (1953)
  • Città che dorme (1953)
  • Cantamaggio a Cervarezza (1954)
  • Bambini al cinema (1956)
  • Adolescenza (1959)
  • La suola romana (1960)
  • L'addio a Enrico Berlinguer (1984) (collective documentary)
  • Un altro mondo è possibile (2001) (collective documentary)
  • Lettere dalla Palestina (2002)
  • Firenze, il nostro domani (2003)
  • Frammenti di Novecento (2005)

Actor

Awards

References
  1. Gino Moliterno (2009). The A to Z of Italian Cinema. Scarecrow Press, 2009. ISBN 978-0810868960.
  2. "A Tribute to Director Citto Maselli". La Biennale di Venezia. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  3. "Francesco Maselli, Influential Italian Auteur, Dies at 92". Variety. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  4. "Citto Maselli, morto il regista de 'Gli indifferenti' e 'I delfini'". La Repubblica. 21 March 2023. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
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