Centenary of the birth of Giuseppe De Santis, a master of Italian neo-realism

Centenary of the birth of Giuseppe De Santis, a master of Italian neo-realism

Saturday, February 11, 2017 marks the centenary of the birth of Giuseppe De Santis, one of the founding fathers of neo-realism.

His films have intrigued millions of viewers around the world, from Europe to the USA, the USSR and Japan.

He has raised to the protagonists of his films the woman and the peasant world.

He has received prestigious international awards, including two Academy Award nominations, a Golden Globe of Hollywood Foreign Press Association and the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement.

He was mentor of filmmakers such as Charles Lizzani and Elio Petri. Which teacher at the Experimental Center of Cinematography, bred actors like Francesca Neri, Iaia Forte and Roberto De Francesco.

But he also suffered a removal from the productive world that forced him to silence for 25 years.

Giuseppe De Santis was born in Fondi (LT) the February 11, 1917.

The association named after him and Fondi, his hometown, remember him on the birthday with two initiatives, sponsored and supported by the City of Fondi, Regional Park Authority Aurunci Mountains, Library System South Pontino and Popular Bank of Fondi.

At 16.00 at the Municipal Cemetery on the grave of De Santis, by Master Ettore de Conciliis. There will be a memorial commemoration attended by the Mayor, family members, friends and fellow citizens and members of the Association.

At 17.30, at the Conference Hall of the Caetani Castle.

It will be presented and distributed the number VII of the "Notebooks" of the Association entitled "Giuseppe De Santis in the centenary of the birth".

The volume, edited by Marco Grossi and Virginio Palazzo, collects an interview to Giuliano Montaldo, Honorary President of the Association, unpublished writings by director Gianni Amelio, actor Lino Capolicchio, RAI journalist and essayist Stefano Masi and film critic of Corriere della Sera Paolo Mereghetti, as well as extracts of essays signed by university teachers and Valerio Caprara and Michele Guerra, articles and interviews with De Santis appeared in the newspapers from 1952 to 1997. They enrich the notebook numerous images portraying De Santis on sets of his movies or with his friends and artists, including Eduardo De Filippo, Gillo Pontecorvo, Theo Angelopoulos, Ennio De Concini, Ilya Glazunov. It will also be presented a 2017 calendar with photos of sets and frames of De Santis movies.

During the event will be announced some national and international events that the Association is organizing for the "desantisiano" year.

The meeting will be attended by Stefano Masi, Valerio Caprara and Lino Capolicchio.

During the evening will be screened the documentary film "In the land of peace and olive trees" (1986) directed by the same Masi and scripted by Antonio Parisi, with the story of Giuseppe De Santis and testimonies of Raf Vallone, Pietro Ingrao and Guido Ruggiero.