Cesare Zavattini

Cesare Zavattini (Luzzara, 20 September 1902 - Rome, 13 October 1989) Screenwriter, director, writer, trained in Bergamo, Rome, Alatri and Parma. He publishes his first story, Let's talk a lot about me, in 1931, followed by other, numerous successes: The poor are mad (1937), I am the devil (1941), Totò the good (1943), Straparole (1967), Non book plus disco (1970) - characterized by an avant-garde experimentalism - The night that I gave a slap to Mussolini (1976). In the thirties he undertook an intense publishing activity, first for Rizzoli and Mondadori, then for magazines such as "Le Grandi Firme", "Il Milione", "Il Settebello". He writes for numerous newspapers, such as the "Gazzetta di Parma", "L'Illustration", "Solaria", "Il Tevere". At the same time as writing, he devoted himself to the drafting of important film scripts, which have now entered history: Sciuscià (1946), Thieves of bicycles (1948), Umberto D. (1952), all candidates for the Oscars - the first two win the Best foreign film award. In 1982 he made his first and only film, La Veritàaaa, signing the direction and the screenplay and also covering the leading role. Previously, he also dedicated himself to poetry and painting: Stricarm 'in d'na parole (1973) achieved enormous success, while Toni Ligabue (1967) testified to his commitment to naive art, which resulted in the institution of Luzzara of the first and only National Museum of Naïves Arts. Portrait collector, he himself engages in painting, in particular in the theme of self-portrait - Enrico Crispolti and Renato Barilli will write about him. In addition to the World Peace Prize, won in 1955, the Flaiano Prize for Screenplay (1980) and the Writers Guild of America Medaillon (1977), an award from the American Film Writers Association previously won only by Charlie Chaplin.