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

Biography

Born into a well educated family (his father was an art critic) originally from the

Molise Molise ( , ; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. Until 1963, it formed part of the region of Abruzzi e Molise together with Abruzzo. The split, which did not become effective until 1970, makes Molise the newest region in Ital ...

region, Maselli graduated from the Italian National Film School in 1949 and began his career as an assistant and

assistant director The role of an assistant director (AD) on a film includes tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking cast and crew, and maintaining order on the set. They also have ...

for Luigi Chiarini,

Michelangelo Antonioni Michelangelo Antonioni ( ; ; 29 September 1912 – 30 July 2007) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and editor. He is best known for his "trilogy on modernity and its discontents", ''L'Avventura'' (1960), ''La Notte'' (1961), and '' ...

, and

Luchino Visconti Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo (; 2 November 1906 – 17 March 1976) was an Italian filmmaker, theatre and opera director, and screenwriter. He was one of the fathers of Italian neorealism, cinematic neorealism, but later ...

. After directing several short documentary and fiction films, he gave his feature film debut with the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

drama '' Abandoned'' (1955), which premiered at the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the ...

. 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 Alberto Pincherle (; 28 November 1907 – 26 September 1990), known by his pseudonym Alberto Moravia ( , ), was an Italian novelist and journalist. His novels explored matters of modern sexuality, social alienation and existentialism. Moravia i ...

. In the 1970s, Maselli turned to openly

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...

political films, notably '' Lettera aperta a un giornale della sera'' (1970) and '' The Suspect'' (1975), before shifting to more intimate films centered on female protagonists in the 1980s such as '' A Tale of Love'' (1986) and '' The Secret'' (1990). In 2021, Maselli was honoured with a retrospective at the Venice Film Festival, where many of his films had seen their premiere. Maselli died in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

on 21 March 2023, at the age of 92.

Selected filmography

Director

Feature films

* '' L'amore in città'' (1953) (episode "Storia di Caterina") * '' Abandoned'' (1955) * '' The Doll That Took the Town'' (1956) * '' Silver Spoon Set'' (1960) * ''Le italiane e l'amore'' (1961) (episode "Le adolescenti e l'amore") * '' Time of Indifference'' (1964) * ''

Kill Me Quick, I'm Cold ''Kill Me Quick, I'm Cold'' () is a 1967 Italian Crime film, crime-comedy film directed by Francesco Maselli starring Monica Vitti. Plot Giovanna and Franco are a couple of adventurers and swindlers who, after trying to trick each other, decide to ...

'' (1967) * '' A Fine Pair'' (1968) * '' Lettera aperta a un giornale della sera'' (1970) * '' The Suspect'' (1975) * ''Tre operai'' (1980) (TV film) * '' A Tale of Love'' (1986) * ''

Private Access ''Private Access'' (, also known as ''Secret Access'') is a 1988 Italian drama film directed by Francesco Maselli. For this film Ornella Muti was awarded with a Silver Ribbon The (plural: ''Nastri d'Argento''; English: Silver Ribbon) is an I ...

'' (1988) * ''L'alba'' (1990) * '' The Secret'' (1990) * ''Intolerance'' (1996) (episode "Pietas") * ''Cronache del terzo millennio'' (1996) * ''Il compagno'' (1999) (TV film) * '' Civico zero'' (2007) * '' The Red Shadows'' (2009) * ''Scossa'' (2011) (episode "Sciacalli")

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

* '' Lettera aperta a un giornale della sera'' (1970) – Man from Beograd (uncredited) * '' Amarcord'' (1973) – Bongioanni (uncredited) * '' La terrazza'' (1980) – Himself * '' And the Ship Sails On'' (1983) – Guardiano del rinoceronte (uncredited) * ''

The Name of the Rose ''The Name of the Rose'' ( ) is the 1980 debut novel by Italian author Umberto Eco. It is a historical fiction, historical murder mystery set in an Italian monastery in the year 1327, and an intellectual mystery combining semiotics in fiction, ...

'' (1986) – Swineherd #3 * ''Alfonso Sansone produttore per caso'' (2014) – Himself

Awards

* 1986: Venice Film Festival Grand Jury Prize for '' A Tale of Love''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maselli, Francesco 1930 births 2023 deaths Italian screenwriters Italian male screenwriters Italian film directors Italian communists Writers from Rome Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia alumni