Franco Cristaldi (3 October 1924 – 1 July 1992) was an Italian film producer, credited with producing (or co-producing) feature films from the 1950s to the 1990s.

Career

In 1946 Cristaldi founded ''Vides Cinematografica'' in Turin. This production company initially produced short and documentary films, and would later be renamed to ''Cristaldifilm'' in the 1980s. In the 1950s, Cristaldi changed his attention to feature films and moved to Rome. During his long career, he worked with directors and screenwriters such as

Francesco Rosi Francesco Rosi (; 15 November 1922 – 10 January 2015) was an Italian film director. His film '' The Mattei Affair'' won the Palme d'Or at the 1972 Cannes Film Festival. Rosi's films, especially those of the 1960s and 1970s, often appeared to ha ...

, Pietro Germi, Mario Monicelli, Federico Fellini,

Luchino Visconti Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo (; 2 November 1906 – 17 March 1976) was an Italian filmmaker, stage director, and screenwriter. A major figure of Italian art and culture in the mid-20th century, Visconti was one of the ...

, and Giuseppe Tornatore. A noted film producer from some years in his native Italy, some of Cristaldi's most successful films internationally included ''

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

'' and ''

Nuovo cinema Paradiso ''Cinema Paradiso'' ( it, Nuovo Cinema Paradiso, , literally "New Paradise Cinema") is a 1988 coming-of-age drama film written and directed by Giuseppe Tornatore. Set in a small Sicilian town, the film centers on the friendship between a young bo ...

''. (The former winning a César and two BAFTAs, and the latter winning several BAFTAs, the Grand Prix at

Cannes Cannes ( , , ; oc, Canas) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. T ...

, and

Best Foreign Language Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

at the 62nd Academy Awards). In 1977 Cristaldi was elected president of the

International Federation of Film Producers Associations The FIAPF (Fédération Internationale des Associations de Producteurs de Films; en, International Federation of Film Producers Associations), created in 1933, is an organization composed with 36 member associations from 30 of the leading audio ...

, and was a member of the jury at the

1984 Cannes Film Festival The 37th Cannes Film Festival was held from 11 to 23 May 1984. The Palme d'Or went to the '' Paris, Texas'' by Wim Wenders. The festival opened with '' Fort Saganne'', directed by Alain Corneau and closed with '' The Bounty'', directed by Roger ...

Personal life

Cristaldi was born in

Turin, Italy Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...

in 1924, and studied at university for a time before focusing his interests on cinema. He was first married to Carla Simonetti with whom he had a son, Massimo. He applied to the Vatican to have this marriage annulled, and from 1966 lived with actress

Claudia Cardinale Claude Joséphine Rose "Claudia" Cardinale (; born 15 April 1938) is an Italian actress. She has starred in some of the most iconic European films of the 1960s and 1970s, acting in Italian, French, and English. Born and raised in La Goulette, a ...

. Cristaldi claimed to have married Cardinale, but she refuted this, saying he threw a marriage party, without ever officially marrying her. He mentored Cardinale through her own film career, producing many of her films, until their separation in 1975. In 1983, he married Eritrean actress

Zeudi Araya Zeudi Araya (born 10 February 1951) is an Eritrean-Italian former actress, singer, model and film producer. Career On a journey to Italy in 1972, Araya recorded a commercial for coffee, where she was introduced to director Luigi Scattini, who ...

, who starred in several Cristaldi-produced films. Franco Cristaldi died in

Montecarlo Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is ...

in 1992, survived by his wife Zeudi, son Massimo, and adopted son Patrick, the son of Claudia Cardinale.

Selected filmography

* ''

A Hero of Our Times ''A Hero of Our Times'' ( it, Un eroe dei nostri tempi) is a 1955 Italian comedy film directed by Mario Monicelli and starring Alberto Sordi. Plot Alberto is an employee who is the Italian average of society of the Fifties. Alberto is a go-g ...

'', (1955) * ''Mio figlio Nerone'', (1956) * '' Le notti bianche'', (1957) * ''

A Man of Straw ''A Man of Straw'' ( it, L'uomo di paglia) is a 1958 Italian drama film directed by Pietro Germi. It was entered into the 1958 Cannes Film Festival. Cast * Pietro Germi - Andrea * Franca Bettoia - Rita * Luisa Della Noce - Luisa * Edoardo Nevo ...

'', (1958) * ''Big Deal on Madonna Street'', (1958) * ''Kapò'', (1959) * ''Piece of the Sky'', (1959) * ''Ghosts of Rome'', (1961) * ''The Assassin (1961 film), The Assassin'', (1961) * ''Divorce, Italian Style'', (1961) * ''Seduced and Abandoned (1964 film), Seduced and Abandoned'', (1964) * ''Vaghe stelle dell'Orsa'', (1965) * ''Alibi (1969 film), Alibi'', (1969) * ''The Red Tent (film), The Red Tent'', (1969) * ''Oh, Grandmother's Dead'', (1969) * ''L'udienza'', (1971) * ''Amarcord'', (1973) * ''Christ Stopped at Eboli (film), Christ Stopped at Eboli'', (1979) * ''Café Express (film), Café Express'', (1980) * ''E la nave va'', (1983) * ''

'', (1986) * ''

'', (1988)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cristaldi, Franco Italian film producers 1924 births 1992 deaths Film people from Turin David di Donatello winners Nastro d'Argento winners Filmmakers who won the Best Foreign Language Film BAFTA Award