Vittorio De Seta (15 October 1923 – 28 November 2011) was an Italian cinema director and screenwriter, considered one of Italian cinema's great imaginative realists of the 1960s.
Biography
He was born in Palermo, Sicily, to a wealthy family, and studied architecture in Rome, before deciding to become a director.
De Seta made ten short documentaries between 1954 and 1959, before directing his first feature-length film, Banditi a Orgosolo (Bandits of Orgosolo).
His early documentaries focus on the everyday life of many of Sicily's poorest workers, and are notable for their lack of voice-over narration, quiet mood, and striking color.
In 2005 the rediscovery of Vittorio De Seta's work was a highlight of Tribeca Film Festival and Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, where Détour De Seta, a documentary on the Italian director was presented.
Filmography
Banditi a Orgosolo (1961) Un uomo a metà (1966) L'invitata (1969) Diario di un maestro (1972) TV mini-series Un anno a Pietralata (1974) TV movie In Calabria (1993) Lettere dal Sahara (2006) articolo 23 (2008) Short
Documentaries
Vinni lu tempu de li pisci spata, 11', 1954
Isole di fuoco, 11', 1954
Sulfarara, 10', 1955
Pasqua in Sicilia, 11', 1955
Contadini del mare, 10', 1955
Parabola d'oro, 10', 1955
Pescherecci, 11', 1958
Pastori di Orgosolo, 11', 1958
Un giorno in Barbagia, 14', 1958
I dimenticati, 20', 1959
In Calabria, 81', 1993
Dedicato ad Antonino Uccello, 30', 2003
Awards
1957. David di Donatello: Targa d'argento. 1961. Best First Work in the Venice Film Festival with Banditi a Orgosolo. 1962. Silver Ribbon of the Best Cinematography B/W at the Sindacato Nazionale Giornalisti Cinematografici Italiani (Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists) with Banditi a Orgosolo.
Bibliography
Bibliography
Alessandro Rais (curated by). Il cinema di Vittorio De Seta. Catania, Giuseppe Maimone Editore, 1995. Il mondo perduto: i cortometraggi di Vittorio De Seta. 1954-1959, book and DVD. Milan, Feltrinelli Editore, 2009. Paolino Nappi. L'avventura del reale. Il cinema di Vittorio De Seta. Soveria Mannelli, Rubbettino, 2015. Documentary Détour De Seta. Documentary film. Dir. Salvo Cuccia. Palomar-Endemol, 2004. 57 min.