''Magnificat'' is a 1993 Italian drama film directed by Pupi Avati. It was entered into the 1993 Cannes Film Festival.

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Category:1993 films Category:Italian films Category:Italian-language films Category:1990s drama films Category:Films directed by Pupi Avati

Giuseppe Avati, better known as Pupi Avati, (Bologna, 3 November 1938), is an Italian film director, producer and screenwriter.

Early life and career

Although he initially intended to become a professional musician, Avati lacked the necessary talent, and in the mid 1960s he decided to dedicate himself to cinema, his other love, after seeing Federico Fellini's ''8½'' and its portrait of the role of a director. Avati's passion for music, as well as his love for his hometown (where many of his films were set), were to become recurrent themes of his productions.

His filmography as a director includes almost forty films and television works. As a screenwriter, Avati wrote or co-authored the majority of his movies, as well as screenplays for other directors. One is his cooperation to the script of ''Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma'' (''Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom'', 1976) directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini, even if he is uncredited for that. He produced also several films, either his own or for other directors. Many of his movies are produced by his brother Antonio.

Avati began his career directing horror films and he is considered one of the most notable Italian directors of this genre. ''La casa dalle finestre che ridono'' (''The House with Laughing Windows'', 1976) and ''Zeder'' (1983) are considered his masterpieces.

According to Avati, the TV series ''Jazz Band'' (1978) about the story of the ''Doctor Dixie Jazz Band'' marked a turning point for his work: the subject of his movies began coming from his own experience and his cinema became more nostalgic, introspective and autobiographic. Moreover, the series was successful and brought Avati to the attention to a wider public compared to his previous films.

Throughout his whole career Avati directed successfully any genre of film: horrors, medieval period pieces, dramas, jazz comedies, buddy comedies, biopic and others, proving himself as one of the most versatile directors.

During his career as director, screenwriter and producer, Avati was nominated for Golden Palm, Silver Ribbons, David di Donatello Awards and many others. He won two David di Donatello Awards and five Silver Ribbons.

Avati was nominated Commendatore Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana on 2 June 1995.

He presides the Federico Fellini Foundation, born in 1995 in memory of the great director of Rimini.

In 2008 Avati published his autobiography ''Sotto le stelle di un film'', edited by ''Il Margine''. Inspired by the autobiography of the director, in 2010 Claudio Costa made ​​a documentary film of interviews and animations, called ''Pupi Avati, ieri oggi domani'' (''Pupi Avati, yesterday today tomorrow'').

Works

In 1974, Avati made the bizarre ''La mazurka del barone, della santa e del fico fiorone'' (''The Mazurka of the Baron, the Saint and the Early Fig Tree''), a movie with an almost fairy tale-like atmosphere in a style reminiscent of the movies of Federico Fellini, and in 1975 the musical fantasy ''Bordella'' (''House of Pleasure for Women''), which caused a commotion resulting in some censorship.

In 1976, Avati directed the horror film ''La casa dalle finestre che ridono'', set in the Po Valley in Emilia–Romagna, appreciated by lovers of this genre. This movie was followed by ''Tutti defunti... tranne i morti'' (1977), a black comedy with a similar theme but written in a parodistic, farcical way.

Avati directed also several films and series for the television: the mentioned ''Jazz Band'' is broadcasted on RAI TV in 1978, followed by ''Cinema!!!'' in 1979 and by the works ''Dancing Paradise'' in 1982, ''Accadde a Bologna'' in 1983 and ''È proibito ballare'' in 1989.

In 1980, he writes the screenplay for ''Macabro'' (''Frozen Terror'', or ''Macabre''), the first movie directed by Lamberto Bava, produced by Pupi Avati himself.

In 1983, Avati first directed the comedy ''Una gita scolastica'' (''A School Outing'') and then another thriller-horror, ''Zeder'', considered one of his best films of this kind. After ''Impiegati'' (1984), he made ''Regalo di Natale'' (''Christmas Present'', 1986), starring Diego Abatantuono in his first dramatic role. The sequel of this film was released in 2004 and titled ''Rivincita di Natale'' (''Christmas Rematch'').

His career continued with ''Storia di ragazzi e di ragazze'' (''The Story of Boys and Girls'', 1989), awarded with the Nastro d'Argento for Best Director and Script in 1990, the biopic ''Bix'' (1991), ''Magnificat'' (1993), the thriller ''L'amico d'infanzia'' (''The Childhood Friend'', 1994) and the horror ''L'arcano incantatore'' (''The Mysterious Enchanter'', 1996) with Stefano Dionisi.

In 1995, he wrote the screenplay of the RAI TV miniseries ''Voci notturne'' directed by Fabrizio Laurenti.

In 1998, Avati filmed ''Il testimone dello sposo'' (''The Best Man''), in 1999 ''La via degli angeli'' (''A Midsummer Night's Dance'') and in 2001 ''I cavalieri che fecero l'impresa'' (''The Knights of the Quest''). In 2003, he directed the sentimental comedy ''Il cuore altrove'' (''The Heart Is Elsewhere'') with Neri Marcorè and Vanessa Incontrada in the role of a young blind lady. The film was nominated for Golden Palm at Cannes Film Festival and he received the David di Donatello Award as Best Director.

In 2005, he directed Vittoria Puccini, Paolo Briguglia and Claudio Santamaria in the romantic comedy ''Ma quando arrivano le ragazze?'', and Antonio Albanese, Katia Ricciarelli and again Neri Marcorè in ''La seconda notte di nozze''. In 2007, Diego Abatantuono, Francesca Neri, Ines Sastre, Vanessa Incontrada and Violante Placido acted in Avati's film ''La cena per farli conoscere'' while Laura Morante acted as an Italian woman who takes over a disturbing building in Davenport, Iowa, in the horror ''Il nascondiglio'' (''The Hideout'').

In 2008, Avati directed ''Il papà di Giovanna'' (''Giovanna's Father''), followed by ''Gli amici del bar Margherita'' (''The Friends at Margherita Café'') in 2009, ''Il figlio più piccolo'' in 2010 and ''Una sconfinata giovinezza'' in 2011.

Filmography

Director

TV productions

Screenwriter

Producer

Awards and nominations

David di Donatello Awards

Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists – Silver Ribbon

Venice Film Festival

Berlin International Film Festival

Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film

Fantafestival

Fantasporto

Istanbul International Film Festival

Montreal World Film Festival

Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival

Sannio Film Fest – Capitelli d'oro

Valladolid International Film Festival

See also

References

External links

Category:1938 births Category:Living people Category:People from Bologna Category:Italian film directors Category:Italian screenwriters Category:Horror film directors

Riziero "Riz" Ortolani (born September 4, 1931 in Pesaro, Italy) is an Italian film composer.

In the early 1950s Ortolani was founder and member of a jazz band of national Italian renown. His first score he wrote for the 1962 Paolo Cavara and Gualtiero Jacopetti pseudo-documentary ''Mondo Cane'', whose main title-song ''More'' earned him a Grammy and also was nominated for an Oscar as ''Best Song''.

The success of the soundtrack of ''Mondo Cane'' led Ortolani to score films in England and the United States such as ''The 7th Dawn'' (1964), ''The Yellow Rolls-Royce'' (1964), ''The Glory Guys'' (1965) and ''The Spy with a Cold Nose'' (1966). Another world famous track was his main-title for the movie O Cangaceiro (1970).

Ortolani scored all or parts of over 200 films, including German westerns like ''Apache's Last Battle'' (''Old Shatterhand'', 1964) and a long series of Italian giallo, spaghetti westerns, Eurospy, exploitation and mondo films.

Other films Ortolani has scored include ''Il Sorpasso'' (1962), ''Io ho paura'' (1977), ''Castle of Blood'' (1964), ''Anzio (film)'', ''The Bliss of Mrs. Blossom'' (1968), ''Sette orchidee macchiate di rosso'' (1972), ''Africa Addio'' (1966), ''Addio Zio Tom'' (1971), ''House on the Edge of the Park'' (1980), and ''Cannibal Holocaust'' (1980).

Scores of Riz Ortolani have recently been featured in ''Grand Theft Auto: London 1969'' (1999), ''Kill Bill: Vol. 1'' (2003), and ''Kill Bill: Vol. 2'' (2004)

References

External links

Category:1931 births Category:Living people Category:People from Pesaro Category:Italian film score composers Category:Grammy Award winners

References

External links

Category:1931 births Category:2009 deaths Category:Italian poets Category:Italian writers Category:People from Milan Category:Viareggio Prize winners