Paolo Taviani (; 8 November 1931 – 29 February 2024) and Vittorio Taviani (; 20 September 1929 – 15 April 2018), collectively referred to as the Taviani brothers, were Italian film directors and screenwriters who collaborated on numerous film productions. At the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

, the Taviani brothers won the ''

Palme d'Or The (; ) is the highest prize awarded to the director of the Best Feature Film of the Official Competition at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festiv ...

'' and the

FIPRESCI The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for ''Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique'') is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the wor ...

prize for '' Padre Padrone'' in 1977 and the '' Grand Prix du Jury'' for '' La notte di San Lorenzo'' (''The Night of the Shooting Stars'', 1982). In 2012 they won the

Golden Bear The Golden Bear () is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival and is, along with the Palme d'Or and the Golden Lion, the most important international film festival award. The bear is the heraldic an ...

at the

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

with ''

Caesar Must Die ''Caesar Must Die'' () is a 2012 Italian drama film directed by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani. The film competed at the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival where it won the Golden Bear. The film is set in Rebibbia Prison (suburb of Rome), and ...

''.

Career

Both born in

San Miniato San Miniato is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Pisa, in the region of Tuscany, Italy. San Miniato sits at a historically strategic location atop three small hills where it dominates the lower Arno valley, between the valleys of the E ...

, Tuscany, Italy, the Taviani brothers began their careers as journalists. In 1960 they came to the world of cinema, directing with

Joris Ivens Georg Henri Anton "Joris" Ivens (18 November 1898 – 28 June 1989) was a Dutch documentary filmmaker. Among the notable films he directed or co-directed are '' A Tale of the Wind'', ''The Spanish Earth'', ''Rain'', ''...A Valparaiso'', '' Misèr ...

the documentary ''L'Italia non è un paese povero'' (''Italy is not a poor country''). They went on to direct two films with

Valentino Orsini Valentino Orsini (19 January 1927 in Pisa – 26 January 2001 in Cerveteri) was an Italian film director. After his first interests to arts (he had been sculptor, stage designer, cinema critic, cineclub animator) in his hometown, in 1954 Val ...

, '' Un uomo da bruciare'' (''A Man to Burn'') (1962) and ''

I fuorilegge del matrimonio ''I fuorilegge del matrimonio'', internationally released as ''Outlaws of Love'', is a 1963 Italian anthology comedy film. It is the second and last film directed both by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani and Valentino Orsini. It is inspired by the dra ...

'' (''Outlaws of Marriage'') (1963). Their first anonymous film was '' I sovversivi'' (''The Subversives'', 1967), with which they anticipated the events of 1968. With actor

Gian Maria Volonté Gian Maria Volonté (9 April 1933 – 6 December 1994) was an Italian actor and activist. He is best known for his roles in four Spaghetti Western films: Ramón Rojo in Sergio Leone's ''A Fistful of Dollars'' (1964), El Indio in Leone's ''For a ...

they gained attention with '' Sotto il segno dello scorpione'' (''Under the Sign of Scorpio'', (1969) where one can see the echoes of

Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known as Bertolt Brecht and Bert Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a ...

Pasolini Pier Paolo Pasolini (; 5 March 1922 – 2 November 1975) was an Italian poet, film director, writer, actor and playwright. He is considered one of the defining public intellectuals in 20th-century Italian history, influential both as an artist ...

, and

Godard Jean-Luc Godard ( , ; ; 3 December 193013 September 2022) was a French and Swiss film director, screenwriter, and film critic. He rose to prominence as a pioneer of the French New Wave film movement of the 1960s, alongside such filmmakers as F ...

. In 1971, they co-signed the media campaign against Milan's police commissioner

Luigi Calabresi Luigi Calabresi (14 November 1937 – 17 May 1972) was an Italian ''Polizia di Stato'' officer in Milan. Responsible for investigating far-left political movements, Calabresi was assassinated in 1972 by members of ''Lotta Continua'', who blamed ...

, published in the magazine ''

L'espresso () is an Italian progressive weekly news magazine. It is one of the two most prominent Italian weeklies; the other is the conservative magazine . Since 2022, it has been published by BFC Media. From 7 August 2016 to 10 September 2023, it was ...

''. The revolutionary theme is present both in '' San Michele aveva un gallo'' (1971), an adaptation of

Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Tolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; ,Throughout Tolstoy's whole life, his name was written as using pre-reform Russian orthography. ; ), usually referr ...

's novel ''The Divine and the Human'', a film greatly appreciated by critics, and in the film '' Allonsanfan'' (1974), in which

Marcello Mastroianni Marcello Vincenzo Domenico Mastroianni (26 September 1924Come da lui stesso dichiarato a 1'10" dquesta intervista/ref> – 19 December 1996) was an Italian actor. He is generally regarded as one of Italy's most iconic male performers of the 20t ...

has a role as an ex-revolutionary who has served a long term in prison and now views his idealistic youth in a much more realistic light, and nevertheless gets entangled in a new attempt in which he no longer believes. Their next film '' Padre Padrone'' (1977) (

at the

), taken from a novel by

Gavino Ledda Gavino Ledda (; born 30 December 1938) is an author and a scholar of the Italian language and of Sardinian. He is best known for his autobiographical work '' Padre Padrone'' (1975). Biography Early life Ledda was born in Siligo, in the Provi ...

, speaks of the struggle of a Sardinian shepherd against the cruel rules of his patriarchal society. In '' Il prato'' (1979) there are nonrealistic echoes, while '' La notte di San Lorenzo'' (''The Night of the Shooting Stars'', 1982) narrates, in a fairy-tale tone, a marginal event in the days leading up to the end of World War II, in Tuscany, as seen through the eyes of some village people. The film was awarded the Special Jury Award in Cannes. '' Kaos'' (1984)—another literary adaptation—is a poignantly beautiful and poetical film in episodes, taken from

Luigi Pirandello Luigi Pirandello (; ; 28 June 1867 – 10 December 1936) was an Italians, Italian dramatist, novelist, poet, and short story writer whose greatest contributions were his plays. He was awarded the 1934 Nobel Prize in Literature "for his bold and ...

's ''Short Stories for a year''. In '' Il sole anche di notte'' (1990) the Taviani brothers transposed in 18th century

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

the story from Tolstoy's ''

Father Sergius "Father Sergius" () is a short story written by Leo Tolstoy between 1890 and 1898 and first published (posthumously) in 1911.Julian Connolly in Charles A. Moser (ed.), ''The Cambridge History of Russian Literature'' (Cambridge University Press, 19 ...

''.

From then onwards, the Tavianis' inspiration proved faltering. Successes like '' Le affinità elettive'', (1996, from

Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

) and an attempt to woo the international audiences like ''

Good morning Babilonia ''Good Morning, Babylon'' () is a 1987 drama film written and directed by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, starring Vincent Spano, Joaquim de Almeida, Greta Scacchi, Désirée Nosbusch, Omero Antonutti, and Charles Dance. The film follows the story of t ...

'', (1987), on the pioneers of cinema history, alternate with lesser films like ''

Fiorile ''Fiorile'' is a 1993 Italian drama film about a family curse caused by greed. The film was directed by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, and stars Claudio Bigagli, Galatea Ranzi, and Michael Vartan. It was entered into the 1993 Cannes Film Festival. T ...

'' (1993) and '' Tu ridi'' (1996), inspired by the characters and short stories of Pirandello. In the 2000s, the brothers turned successfully to directing television films and miniseries, such as Leo Tolstoy's ''

Resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions involving the same person or deity returning to another body. The disappearance of a body is anothe ...

'' (2001) and

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas , was a French novelist and playwright. His works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the mos ...

's ''

Luisa Sanfelice Luisa or Luigia Sanfelice (1764–1800) was an Italian aristocrat who was executed by Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies Ferdinand I (Italian language, Italian: ''Ferdinando I''; 12 January 1751 – 4 January 1825) was Kingdom of the Two Sicilie ...

'' (2004), as well as ''

La masseria delle allodole ''The Lark Farm'' ( Italian: ''La masseria delle allodole'') is a 2007 Italian drama film directed by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani about the Armenian genocide. Plot The story, drawn from ''La masseria delle allodole'', the best-selling novel ...

'' (2007), presented at the

Berlin Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (), usually called the Berlinale (), is an annual film festival held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the festival has been held every February since 1978 and is one of Europ ...

in the section 'Berlinale Special'. Their film ''

'' won the Golden Bear at the

62nd Berlin International Film Festival The 62nd annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 9 to 19 February 2012. British film director Mike Leigh was the president of the jury. The first five films to be screened in the competition were announced on 19 December 2011. Am ...

in February 2012. The film was also selected as the Italian entry for the Best Foreign Language Oscar at the

85th Academy Awards The 85th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2012 and took place on February 24, 2013, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, beginning at 5:30 p ...

, but it did not make the final shortlist. On 15 April 2018, Vittorio Taviani 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, ...

after a long illness at the age of 88. Paolo Taviani died of a pulmonary edema in Rome, on 29 February 2024, at the age of 92.

Filmography

As film directors

*''San Miniato, luglio '44'' (1954) *''L'Italia non è un paese povero'' (together with

, 1960) *'' A Man for Burning'' (together with

, 1962) *'' Outlaws of Love'' (together with Valentino Orsini, 1963) *''

The Subversives ''I sovversivi'' (internationally released as ''The Subversives'') is a 1967 Italian drama film. It is the first solo film directed by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, without Valentino Orsini. It was entered into the 32° Venice Film Festival. Plot ...

'' (1967) *'' Under the Sign of Scorpio'' (1969) *'' St. Michael Had a Rooster'' (1972) *''

Allonsanfàn ''Allonsanfàn'' () is a 1974 Italian historical drama film written and directed by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani. The title of the film, which is also the name of a character, comes from the first words () of the French Revolutionary anthem ''La Mar ...

'' (1974) *'' Padre Padrone'' (1977) *'' The Meadow'' (1979) *''

The Night of the Shooting Stars ''The Night of the Shooting Stars'' (UK: ''The Night of San Lorenzo'', ) is a 1982 Italian fantasy war drama film directed by Paolo Taviani and Vittorio Taviani. It was written by Giuliani G. De Negri, Paolo Taviani, Tonino Guerra, and Vittorio ...

'' (1982) *'' Kaos'' (1984) *''

Good Morning, Babylon ''Good Morning, Babylon'' () is a 1987 drama film written and directed by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, starring Vincent Spano, Joaquim de Almeida, Greta Scacchi, Désirée Nosbusch, Omero Antonutti, and Charles Dance. The film follows the story o ...

'' (1987) *''

The Sun Also Shines at Night ''The Sun Also Shines at Night'' (, and also known as ''Night Sun'') is an Italian film directed by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani in 1990. It was screened out of competition at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival. The plot is based on Leo Tolstoy's 19 ...

'' (1990) *''

'' (1993) *'' The Elective Affinities'' (1996) *''

You Laugh ''Tu ridi'' (internationally released as ''You Laugh'', ''Two Kidnappings'' and ''Kaos II'') is a 1998 Italian drama film. It is the second film adaptation based on short stories by Luigi Pirandello after Kaos directed by Paolo and Vittorio Tavia ...

'' (1998) *''

'' (TV film, 2001) *''La primavera del 2002 - L'Italia protesta, l'Italia si ferma'' (2002), collectively made with 46 other directors *''

'' (TV miniseries, 2004) *'' The Lark Farm'' (2007) *''

'' (2012) *''

Wondrous Boccaccio ''Wondrous Boccaccio'' () is a 2015 Italian film directed by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani. It is loosely based on stories from ''The Decameron'' by Giovanni Boccaccio. Plot During the mid-14th century, in Florence, some young people of rich famili ...

'' (2015) *'' Rainbow: A Private Affair'' (2017) *''

Leonora addio ''Leonora addio'' (lit. "Leonora, goodbye") is a 2022 Italian drama film written and directed by Paolo Taviani, at his only work following the death of his brother Vittorio in 2018 and his last film before his own death in 2024. It is an adaptatio ...

'' (2022, first and last film directed only by Paolo Taviani)

As screenwriters

*''San Miniato, luglio '44'' (with Valentino Orsini and

Cesare Zavattini Cesare Zavattini (20 September 1902 – 13 October 1989) was an Italian screenwriter and one of the first theorists and proponents of the Neorealist movement in Italian cinema. Biography Born in Luzzara near Reggio Emilia in northern Italy, o ...

, 1954) *''A Man for Burning'' (with Valentino Orsini, 1962) *''Outlaws of Love'' (with Lucio Battistrada, Giuliani G. De Negri, Renato Niccolai and Valentino Orsini, 1963) *''The Subversives'' (1967) *''Under the Sign of Scorpio'' (1969) *''St. Michael Had a Rooster'' (based on a story by

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Tolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; ,Throughout Tolstoy's whole life, his name was written as using Reforms of Russian orthography#The post-revolution re ...

, 1972) *''Allonsanfàn'' (1973) *''Padre padrone'' (based on a book by

, 1977) *''The Meadow'' (with Gianni Sbarra, 1979) *''The Night of the Shooting Stars'' (with Giuliani G. De Negri and

Tonino Guerra Antonio "Tonino" Guerra (16 March 1920 – 21 March 2012) was an Italian poet, writer and screenwriter who collaborated with some of the most prominent film directors, such as Andrei Tarkovsky, Michelangelo Antonioni, Theo Angelopoulos, and Fede ...

, 1982) *''Kaos'' (based on short stories by

, 1984) *''Good Morning, Babylon'' (with Tonino Guerra, 1987) *''The Sun Also Shines at Night'' (with Tonino Guerra, based on ''

'' by Tolstoy, 1990) *''Fiorile'' (with

Sandro Petraglia Sandro Petraglia (; born 19 April 1947) is an Italian screenwriter. He began his career in the early 1970s as a film critic, writing for the May 68 May 68 () was a period of widespread protests, strikes, and civil unrest in France that be ...

, 1993) *''The Elective Affinities'' (based on ''

Elective Affinities ''Elective Affinities'' (German: ''Die Wahlverwandtschaften''), also translated under the title ''Kindred by Choice'', is the third novel by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, published in 1809. Situated around the city of Weimar, the book relates the ...

'' by

, 1996) *''You Laugh'' (based on short stories by Pirandello, 1998) *''Resurrection'' (based on ''

'' by Tolstoy, 2001) *''Luisa Sanfelice'' (based on '' La Sanfelice'' by

Alexandre Dumas, père Alexandre Dumas (born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas , was a French novelist and playwright. His works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the mos ...

, 2004) *''Rainbow: A Private Affair'' (based on '' A Private Matter'' by

Beppe Fenoglio Giuseppe "Beppe" Fenoglio (; 1 March 1922 – 18 February 1963) was an Italian writer, partisan and translator from English. The works of Fenoglio have two main themes: the rural world of the Langhe, where he was born and raised, and the Italia ...

, 2017)

Awards

*1977:

Palme d'or The (; ) is the highest prize awarded to the director of the Best Feature Film of the Official Competition at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festiv ...

for '' Padre Padrone - Father and Master''. *1977: Grand Prix for Padre Padrone - Father and Master,

*1978: Special

David di Donatello The David di Donatello Awards, named after Donatello's ''David (Donatello, bronze), David'', a symbolic statue of the Italian Renaissance, are film awards given out each year by the ''Accademia del Cinema Italiano'' (the Academy of Italian Cin ...

for Padre Padrone - Father and Master. *1982:

Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural ''Grands Prix'') most commonly refers to: * Grand Prix motor racing, a form of motorsport competition ** List of Formula One Grands Prix, an auto-racing championship *** Monaco Grand Prix, the most prestigious ...

for ''

''. *1983:

David di Donatello for Best Film The David di Donatello Award for Best Film (Italian: ''David di Donatello per il miglior film'') is one of the David di Donatello awards presented annually by the Accademia del Cinema Italiano (ACI). The award recognizes the most outstanding Ita ...

and

David di Donatello for Best Director The David di Donatello for Best Director (Italian language, Italian: ''David di Donatello per il miglior regista'') is a film award presented annually by the Accademia del Cinema Italiano (ACI, ''Academy of Italian Cinema'') to recognize the outst ...

for

. *1984: Italian Golden Globes

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...

for Best Film for ''

''. *1985: Italian Golden Globes

for Best Film for '' Kaos''. *1985:

David di Donatello for Best Script The David di Donatello Award for Best Screenplay (Italian: ''David di Donatello per la migliore sceneggiatura'') was a film award presented by the Accademia del Cinema Italiano (ACI, ''Academy of Italian Cinema'') to recognize outstanding screen ...

for '' Kaos''. *1986:

Leone d'Oro The Golden Lion () is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is regarded as one of the film industry's most prestigious and distinguished prizes. In 1970, a ...

(Golden Lion) Life Career of the

Venice International 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 ...

. *2002: Golden St. George at the

24th Moscow International Film Festival The 24th Moscow International Film Festival was held from 21 to 30 June 2002. The Golden St. George was awarded to the Italian-French film ''Resurrection (2001 film), Resurrection'' directed by Paolo and Vittorio Taviani. Jury * Chinghiz Aitmato ...

for

*2005: Italian Golden Globes Career Prize *2007: Efebo d'oro for ''La Masseria delle Allodole''. *2008:

Laurea honoris causa An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

in "Cinema, Theatre and Multimedia Production" by the Faculty of Literature and Philosophy of the

University of Pisa The University of Pisa (, UniPi) is a public university, public research university in Pisa, Italy. Founded in 1343, it is one of the oldest universities in Europe. Together with Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa and Sant'Anna School of Advanced S ...

. *2012:

and

Prize of the Ecumenical Jury The Prize of the Ecumenical Jury () is an independent film award for feature-length films shown at major international film festivals since 1973. The award was created by Christian film makers, film critics and other film professionals. The objec ...

for ''

''. *2012:

and

for ''

''.

References

External links

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Taviani, Paolo and Vittorio David di Donatello winners Nastro d'Argento winners Italian film directors Italian screenwriters Italian male screenwriters People from San Miniato Sibling filmmakers Brother duos Directors of Palme d'Or winners Directors of Golden Bear winners Italian communists Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement recipients