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,

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, Luchino Visconti, and

Giuseppe Tornatore Giuseppe Tornatore (born 27 May 1956) is an Italian film director and screenwriter. He is considered one of the directors who brought critical acclaim back to Italian cinema.Katz, Ephraim, "Italy," ''The Film Encyclopedia'' (New York: HarperRes ...

. 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'' and '' Nuovo cinema Paradiso''. (The former winning a César and two BAFTAs, and the latter winning several BAFTAs, the

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

at Cannes, and Best Foreign Language Film at the

62nd Academy Awards The 62nd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 1989 and took place on March 26, 1990, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles beginning at 6:00 p. ...

). In 1977 Cristaldi was elected president of the International Federation of Film Producers Associations, 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 D ...

Personal life

Cristaldi was born in Turin, Italy 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. 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, who starred in several Cristaldi-produced films. Franco Cristaldi died in Montecarlo 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'', (1955) * ''Mio figlio Nerone'', (1956) * '' Le notti bianche'', (1957) * '' A Man of Straw'', (1958) * '' Big Deal on Madonna Street'', (1958) * '' Kapò'', (1959) * '' Piece of the Sky'', (1959) * '' Ghosts of Rome'', (1961) * '' The Assassin'', (1961) * '' Divorce, Italian Style'', (1961) * '' Seduced and Abandoned'', (1964) * ''

Vaghe stelle dell'Orsa ''Sandra'' ( it, Vaghe stelle dell'Orsa, lit=Glimmering stars of the Great Bear) is a 1965 drama film directed and co-written by Luchino Visconti, and starring Claudia Cardinale, Jean Sorel, and Michael Craig. A modern-day retelling of the Electr ...

'', (1965) * '' Alibi'', (1969) * '' The Red Tent'', (1969) * '' Oh, Grandmother's Dead'', (1969) * '' L'udienza'', (1971) * ''

Amarcord ''Amarcord'' () is a 1973 comedy-drama film directed by Federico Fellini, a semi-autobiographical tale about Titta, an adolescent boy growing up among an eccentric cast of characters in the village of Borgo San Giuliano (situated near the ancien ...

'', (1973) * ''

Christ Stopped at Eboli ''Christ Stopped at Eboli'' ( it, Cristo si è fermato a Eboli) is a memoir by Carlo Levi, published in 1945, giving an account of his exile from 1935-1936 to Grassano and Aliano, remote towns in southern Italy, in the region of Lucania which is ...

'', (1979) * '' Café Express'', (1980) * '' E la nave va'', (1983) * '' The Name of the Rose'', (1986) * '' Nuovo cinema Paradiso'', (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