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Gillo Pontecorvo
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Interview
Biography
Returning to Italy, he made a number of documentaries, including "Pane e
zolfo"). He then made "Giovanna", an episode of a film with several
directors "La rosa dei venti" (1956). His first full-length film was "La
grande strada azzurra" (1957), which won a prize at the Karlovy Vary Festival, and in
which his vigorous, romantic style was already evident. In 1959 he directed Kapò, a drama
set in a Nazi death camp.
His masterpiece is "La battaglia di Algeri" (The Battle of Algiers) which won
the Leone d'Oro at Venice in 1966 and Nastro d'Argento 1967 a "political" film
characterised by its strong emotional content, its technical skill and strong sense of
ensemble. This was followed in 1969 by "Queimada" with Marlon Brando, which
describes the horrors of colonialism and the revolt of the oppressed. "Ogro" in
1979 dealt with the theme of terrorism in the decline of Franco's regime.
In 1992 he returned to one of his favourite themes with "Ritorno ad Algeri"
(Return to Algiers), a documentary for the Italian public broadcaster RAI, which revisited
the city at a very different time in its political history. In 1992 he was asked by the
Board of Directors of the Venice Biennale to direct the 49th International Film Festival. |
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