Paolo Taviani died at the age of 92

Paolo was born in San Miniato (Pisa) on November 8, 1931 – just two years after Vittorio – and died today in the Villa Pia clinic in Rome at the age of 92 after a short illness. He was accompanied to the end by his wife, Lena Nerli, the director-brothers' trusted costume designer, and his two children, Ermanos and Valentina. His funeral will take place on Monday, March 4.

Most successful films

Among the most successful films of the Taviani brothers are: (1971) – “Alonsanfan” (1974) – “The Night of San Lorenzo” (1982) – “Chaos” (1984), inspired by the novels of Luigi Pirandello – “Fiorelli” (1993) – “Elective Convergence” (1996) – “Elective Convergence” (1996), from Goethe’s original novel of the same name – “You Laugh” (1998).

Their cinematic work stands out with Padre Lorde (1977), from the emblematic book by Sardinian author Gavino Linda, which won the Palme d'Or and the Critics' Prize at the Cannes Film Festival, with Roberto Rossellini as president of the jury. .

The film also won the Grand Prix at the Berlin Film Festival, the David Di Donatello Special Award and the Nastro D'Argento Award for Best Director.

The film “La Masseria delle lark” was released in 2007 and is based on the best-selling book of the same name by author Antonia Arslan, which tells the story of the Armenian genocide during World War I. In 2012, the directors directed “Cesar Must Die” , a prison drama film set in Rebibbia, won the Golden Bear award at the Berlin Film Festival in the same year.

In 2015, the brothers returned to directing with Maraviglioso Boccaccio, slightly inspired by Decameron, followed by A Private Question in 2017. In 2016 they received a special David Di Donatello 60th Anniversary Award.

A documentary film with a social background

Sons of a lawyer who, during the Fascist dictatorship, faced the hostility of the regime because of his political ideas, Paolo and Vittorio in their youth, together with their partisan friend Valentino Orsini, organized screenings and film screenings in Pisa and Livorno, soon giving life to the Cinema Club of Pisa.

In 1954, the three inseparable friends began filming a series of documentaries with a social background, largely inspired by neo-realism and in particular by Roberto Rossellini's Paisà, such as San Miniato, July 44 (1954) in collaboration with Cesare Zavattini and “Italy is Not a Poor Country” (1960) by Joris Ivins.

The first independent film of the Taviani brothers was “I Sovversivi” (1967), in which they predicted the events of 1968. Together with Gian Maria Volonte, they had a great success with “Under the Sign of Scorpio” (1969), in which echoes of Brecht, Pasolini and Godard can be felt. It was the beginning of a more special film than is rare in Italian cinema.

Banner image: Lucca Film Festival | With information from ruetir