Francesco Maselli or Citto Maselli (born 9 December 1930, in Rome) is an Italian

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, pr ...

and screenwriter. He has directed 38 films since 1949.

Biography

Maselli graduated at the National Film School in 1949 and began his career as

assistant director The role of an assistant director 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 to tak ...

for

Luigi Chiarini Luigi Chiarini (20 June 1900 – 12 November 1975) was an Italian film theorist, essayist, screenwriter and film director. Life and career Born in Rome, Chiarini wrote extensively about film theory and in 1935 he founded the drama school Centr ...

Michelangelo Antonioni Michelangelo Antonioni (, ; 29 September 1912 – 30 July 2007) was an Italian filmmaker. He is best known for directing his "trilogy on modernity and its discontents"—''L'Avventura'' (1960), ''La Notte'' (1961), and ''L'Eclisse'' (1962 ...

and

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 ...

. Thanks to Visconti, Maselli manages to direct his first feature film, '' Abandoned'', showed in competition at the 16th Venice Film Festival. In the

1980s File:1980s replacement montage02.PNG, 420px, From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, ''Columbia'', lifts off in 1981; US president Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev ease tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the ...

, Maselli dedicated himself to more intimate films, generally focused on female portraits, such as ''

A Tale of Love ''Storia d'amore'', internationally released as ''A Tale of Love'' and ''Love Story'', is a 1986 Italian drama film directed by Francesco Maselli. It entered the 43rd Venice International Film Festival, in which it won the Special Jury Prize and ...

'', with which Maselli won the

Grand Jury Prize A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festivals show some films outdoors. Films may be of recent date and, depending upo ...

at the 43rd Venice Film Festival, where

Valeria Golino Valeria Golino (born 22 October 1965) is an Italian actress and film director. She is best known to English-language audiences for her roles in '' Rain Man'', ''Big Top Pee-wee'' and the two '' Hot Shots!'' films, particularly the olive-in-the-be ...

was awarded with her first

Volpi Cup for Best Actress The Volpi Cup for Best Actress is an award presented by the Venice Film Festival. It is given by the festival jury in honor of an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance from the films in the competition slate. It is named in honor o ...

. His 1990 film '' Il segreto'' was entered into the

40th Berlin International Film Festival The 40th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 9 to 20 February 1990. The festival opened with '' Steel Magnolias'' by Herbert Ross, which was shown out of competition. The Golden Bear was awarded ''ex aequo'' to the American f ...

Selected filmography

Director

Feature films

* '' L'amore in città'' (1953) (episode "Storia di Caterina") * '' Cantamaggio a Cervarezza'' (1954, short film) * '' Abandoned'' (1955) * ''

La donna del giorno ''La donna del giorno'' (lit. ''The Woman of the Day'', released in the US as ''The Doll That Took the Town'') is a 1956 Italian drama film starring Virna Lisi, Haya Harareet and Franco Fabrizi. It is directed by Francesco Maselli and tells the ...

'' (1956) * ''

Silver Spoon Set ''Silver Spoon Set'' ( it, I Delfini, also known as ''The Dauphins'') is a 1960 Italian and French drama film directed and written by Francesco Maselli. The film stars Claudia Cardinale. Shot in Ascoli Piceno, Italy. Cast *Claudia Cardinale as ...

'' (1960) * '' Le italiane e l'amore'' (1961) (episode "Le adolescenti e l'amore") * '' Gli indifferenti'' (1964) * '' Kill Me Quick, I'm Cold'' (1967) * ''

A Fine Pair ''A Fine Pair'' (original title ''Ruba al prossimo tuo'') is a 1968 Italian crime- comedy film directed by Francesco Maselli. It stars Rock Hudson and Claudia Cardinale, who had co-starred together two years earlier in the romantic drama, ''Blind ...

'' (1968) * '' Lettera aperta a un giornale della sera'' (1970) * '' The Suspect'' (1975) * '' Tre operai'' (1980) (TV film) * ''

'' (1986) * '' Private Access'' (1988) * '' L'alba'' (1990) * '' The Secret'' (1990) * '' Intolerance'' (1996) (episode "Pietas") * '' Cronache del terzo millennio'' (1996) * '' Il compagno'' (1999) (TV film) * '' The Red Shadows'' (2009)

Documentaries

* '' Tibet proibito'' (1949) * '' Bagnaia, villaggio italiano'' (1949) * '' Finestre'' (1950) * ''

Zona pericolosa ''Zona pericolosa'' is a 1951 Italian documentary film directed by Francesco Maselli Francesco Maselli or Citto Maselli (born 9 December 1930, in Rome) is an Italian film director and screenwriter. He has directed 38 films since 1949. Biograph ...

'' (1951) * '' Stracciaroli'' (1951) * ''

Sport minore ''Sport minore'' is a 1951 Italian short documentary film directed by Francesco Maselli. Legacy ''Sport minore'' was screened at the 2015 Il Cinema Ritrovato Il Cinema Ritrovato (meaning "cinema rediscovered") is a festival dedicated to the his ...

'' (1951) * ''Bambini'' (1951) * '' Ombrelli'' (1952) * '' Uno spettacolo di pupi'' (1953) * '' I fiori'' (1953) * '' Festa dei morti in Sicilia'' (1953) * '' Città che dorme'' (1953) * '' Bambini al cinema (1956) * '' Adolescenza'' (1959) * '' La suola romana'' (1960) * ''

L'addio a Enrico Berlinguer Coma_Cose is an Italian indie pop- hip hop musical duo formed in 2017 by Fausto Lama (Fausto Zanardelli, born 1978) and California (Francesca Mesiano, born 1990). History They debuted in 2017 with the single "Cannibalismo", but they reached a wi ...

'' (1984) (collective documentary) * '' Un altro mondo è possibile'' (2001) (collective documentary) * ''

Lettere dalla Palestina Lettere is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Naples in the southern central Italian region Campania, located about 30 km southeast of Naples. Lettere borders the following municipalities: Angri, Casola di Napoli, Corbar ...

'' (2002) * '' Firenze, il nostro domani'' (2003) * '' Frammenti di Novecento'' (2005) * '' Civico zero'' (2007)

Actor

* '' Lettera aperta a un giornale della sera'' (1970) - Man from Beograd (uncredited) * ''

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 anci ...

'' (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'' ( 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 ...

'' (1986) - Schweinehirten #3 * ''Alfonso Sansone produttore per caso'' (2014) - Himself

Awards and nominations

Berlin Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the fest ...

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicis ...

: Nominated for the

Golden Bear The Golden Bear (german: Goldener Bär) is the highest prize awarded for the best film at the Berlin International Film Festival. The bear is the heraldic animal of Berlin, featured on both the coat of arms and flag of Berlin. History The win ...

for '' The Secret'' *

David di Donatello Awards The David di Donatello Awards, named after Donatello's ''David (Donatello), 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 Cinema). The ...

**1987: Nominated for the

David di Donatello for Best Director The David di Donatello Award for Best Director (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 outstanding dire ...

for ''

'' **1987: Nominated for the David di Donatello for Best Screenplay for ''

'' *

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

: Nominated for the

Golden Lion The Golden Lion ( it, Leone d'oro) 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 now regarded as one of the film industry's most prestigious and distinguis ...

for '' Abandoned'' **

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

: Nominated for the

for ''

'' **

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal en ...

for ''

'' **

: Nominated for the

for ''

References

External links

* 1930 births Living people Italian screenwriters Italian male screenwriters Italian film directors Italian communists Writers from Rome Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia alumni {{Italy-film-director-stub