Ettore Scola

Scola was born in Trevico, Avellino, Campania. At age 15, he became a ghostwriter. He entered the film industry as a screenwriter in 1953 and collaborated with director Dino Risi and fellow writer Ruggero Maccari on the screenplay for Risi's feature, Il Sorpasso (1962). He directed his first film, Let's Talk About Women, in 1964. In 1974, Scola enjoyed international success with We All Loved Each Other So Much (C'eravamo tanto amati), a wide fresco of post-World War II Italian life and politics, dedicated to fellow director Vittorio De Sica. The film won the Golden Prize at the 9th Moscow International Film Festival. In 1976, he won the Prix de la mise en scène at the 1976 Cannes Film Festival for Down and Dirty. Scola made further successful films, including A Special Day (1977), That Night In Varennes (1982), What Time Is It? (1989) and Captain Fracassa's Journey (1990). He directed close to 40 films in some 40 years. His film Passione d'amore, adapted from a 19th-century novel, was adapted by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine into the award-winning musical Passion. He was a member of the jury at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival.. A lifelong supporter of left-wing politics, Scola was part of the shadow cabinet of the Italian Communist Party in 1989 as Minister of Culture. In 2009, Scola signed a petition in support of film director Roman Polanski, calling for his release after Polanski was arrested in Switzerland in relation to his 1977 charge for drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl. Scola died in Rome on 19 January 2016 at the age of 84.

Let's Talk About Women (1964) Thrilling (1965) Hard Time for Princes (1965) The Devil in Love (1966) Will Our Heroes Be Able to Find Their Friend Who Has Mysteriously Disappeared in Africa? (1968) Police Chief Pepe (1969) The Pizza Triangle (1970) My Name Is Rocco Papaleo (1971) The Most Wonderful Evening of My Life (1972) Trevico-Turin: Voyage in Fiatnam (1973) Festival Unità (1973) – documentary We All Loved Each Other So Much (1974) Goodnight, Ladies and Gentlemen (1976) Down and Dirty (1976) A Special Day (1977) La terrazza (1980) Passion of Love (1981) That Night in Varennes (1982) Vorrei che volo (1982) – documentary Le Bal (1983) Macaroni (1985) Imago urbis (1987) – documentary The Family (1987) Splendor (1988) What Time Is It? (1989) Captain Fracassa's Journey (1990) Mario, Maria and Mario (1993) The Story of a Poor Young Man (1995) The Dinner (1998) Unfair Competition (2001) Un altro mondo è possibile (2001) – documentary Lettere dalla Palestina (2002) – documentary Gente di Roma (2003) How Strange to Be Named Federico (2013) – documentary