{{Short description|Italian film director (1930–2023)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2023}} {{Infobox person | name = Francesco Maselli | image = Francesco_Maselli_(cropped).jpg | caption = Maselli in 2010 | birth_date = {{Birth date|1930|12|9|df=y}} | birth_place = Rome, Italy | death_date = {{Death date and age|2023|3|21|1930|12|9|df=y}} | death_place = Rome, Italy | birth_name = | other_names = Citto Maselli | occupation = Film director, screenwriter | political_party = PCI {{small|(1948–1991)}}<br />PRC {{small|(1991–2023)}} }}
'''Francesco Maselli''' (9 December 1930 – 21 March 2023), also known as '''Citto Maselli''', was an Italian film director and screenwriter.<ref name="AtoZ">{{cite book|last=Gino Moliterno|title=The A to Z of Italian Cinema|year=2009|publisher=Scarecrow Press, 2009|isbn=978-0810868960}}</ref><ref name="Venezia">{{cite web |url=https://www.labiennale.org/en/news/tribute-director-citto-maselli |title=A Tribute to Director Citto Maselli |access-date=17 September 2023 |website=La Biennale di Venezia|date=12 August 2021 }}</ref>
==Biography== Born into a well educated family (his father was an art critic) originally from the Molise region, Maselli graduated from the Italian National Film School in 1949 and began his career as an assistant and assistant director for Luigi Chiarini, Michelangelo Antonioni, and Luchino Visconti.<ref name="AtoZ" /><ref name="Venezia" /> After directing several short documentary and fiction films, he gave his feature film debut with the World War II drama ''Abandoned'' (1955), which premiered at the Venice Film Festival.<ref name="AtoZ" /><ref name="Venezia" /><ref name="Variety">{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2023/film/global/francesco-maselli-italian-auteur-dies-at-92-1235560250/ |title=Francesco Maselli, Influential Italian Auteur, Dies at 92 |access-date=17 September 2023 |website=Variety|date=21 March 2023 }}</ref> Following a series of minor films, Maselli had greater success with ''Silver Spoon Set'' (1960, also titled ''The Dolphins'') and ''Time of Indifference'' (1964), an adaptation of a novel by Alberto Moravia.<ref name="AtoZ" /><ref name="Venezia" />
In the 1970s, Maselli turned to openly left-wing political films,<ref name="Variety" /> notably ''Lettera aperta a un giornale della sera'' (1970) and ''The Suspect'' (1975),<ref name="AtoZ" /><ref name="Venezia" /><ref name="Variety" /> before shifting to more intimate films centered on female protagonists in the 1980s such as ''A Tale of Love'' (1986) and ''The Secret'' (1990).<ref name="AtoZ" /><ref name="Venezia" /><ref name="Variety" />
In 2021, Maselli was honoured with a retrospective at the Venice Film Festival, where many of his films had seen their premiere.<ref name="Venezia" /> Maselli died in Rome on 21 March 2023, at the age of 92.<ref name="Variety" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.repubblica.it/spettacoli/cinema/2023/03/21/news/citto_maselli_morto_regista-393122238/?ref=RHUO-UO|title=Citto Maselli, morto il regista de 'Gli indifferenti' e 'I delfini'|website=La Repubblica|date=21 March 2023|access-date=21 March 2023}}</ref>
==Selected filmography== ===Director=== ====Feature films==== {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * ''L'amore in città'' (1953) (episode "Storia di Caterina") * ''Abandoned'' (1955) * ''The Doll That Took the Town'' (1956) * ''Silver Spoon Set'' (1960) * ''Le italiane e l'amore'' (1961) (episode "Le adolescenti e l'amore") * ''Time of Indifference'' (1964) * ''Kill Me Quick, I'm Cold'' (1967) * ''A Fine Pair'' (1968) * ''Lettera aperta a un giornale della sera'' (1970) * ''The Suspect'' (1975) * ''Tre operai'' (1980) (TV film) * ''A Tale of Love'' (1986) * ''Private Access'' (1988) * ''L'alba'' (1990) * ''The Secret'' (1990) * ''Intolerance'' (1996) (episode "Pietas") * ''Cronache del terzo millennio'' (1996) * ''Il compagno'' (1999) (TV film) * ''Civico zero'' (2007) * ''The Red Shadows'' (2009) * ''Scossa'' (2011) (episode "Sciacalli") {{div col end}}
====Documentaries==== {{div col|colwidth=30em}} * ''Tibet proibito'' (1949) * ''Bagnaia, villaggio italiano'' (1949) * ''Finestre'' (1950) * ''Zona pericolosa'' (1951) * ''Stracciaroli'' (1951) * ''Sport minore'' (1951) * ''Bambini'' (1951) * ''Ombrelli'' (1952) * ''Uno spettacolo di pupi'' (1953) * ''I fiori'' (1953) * ''Festa dei morti in Sicilia'' (1953) * ''Città che dorme'' (1953) * ''Cantamaggio a Cervarezza'' (1954) * ''Bambini al cinema'' (1956) * ''Adolescenza'' (1959) * ''La suola romana'' (1960) * ''L'addio a Enrico Berlinguer'' (1984) (collective documentary) * ''Un altro mondo è possibile'' (2001) (collective documentary) * ''Lettere dalla Palestina'' (2002) * ''Firenze, il nostro domani'' (2003) * ''Frammenti di Novecento'' (2005) {{div col end}}
===Actor=== * ''Lettera aperta a un giornale della sera'' (1970) – Man from Beograd (uncredited){{citation needed|date=September 2023}} * ''Amarcord'' (1973) – Bongioanni (uncredited){{citation needed|date=September 2023}} * ''La terrazza'' (1980) – Himself * ''And the Ship Sails On'' (1983) – Guardiano del rinoceronte (uncredited){{citation needed|date=September 2023}} * ''The Name of the Rose'' (1986) – Swineherd #3 * ''Alfonso Sansone produttore per caso'' (2014) – Himself
==Awards== * 1986: Venice Film Festival Grand Jury Prize for ''A Tale of Love''
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{IMDb name|id=0556255}}
{{Francesco Maselli}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maselli, Francesco}} Category:1930 births Category:2023 deaths Category:Italian screenwriters Category:Italian male screenwriters Category:Italian film directors Category:Italian communists Category:Writers from Rome Category:Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia alumni