The director Vittorio De Seta, celebrated creator of award winning documentaries and films both in Italy and abroad such as Un giorno in Barbagia, Banditi ad Orgosolo, Lu tempu di lu pisci spata and Diario di un maestro, has died in Calabria at the age of 88. The news was given by family members. De Seta, who was born on October 15th 1923, completed his last film Lettere dal Sahara in 2006, which was presented out of competition at the Venice Film Festival.
De Seta began his career in 1953, working as an assistant director on an episode of the film Amori di mezzo secolo for Mario Chiari. He then became a screenwriter and documentary filmmaker, shooting films from the 1950s onwards, mainly in Sicily and Sardinia. Among these works, Isola di fuoco, set on the Aeolian Islands, was his best known work, winning awards at the 1955 Cannes Festival.
De Seta made his feature debut in 1961 with Banditi ad Orgosolo, which he wrote with his wife, Vera Gherarducci, a film that was made with a simple style and a sensitivity that was like a modern reinvention of neo-realism. It won the Best Debut Feature at Venice and the Silver Ribbon for Best Cinematography. He followed it up in 1966 with Un uomo a meta, which marked a distinct move away from the documentary approach which had characterised his early years.
Between 1969 and 1970, he moved to France to shoot L’invitati, a film which was coolly received despite winning he appreciation of Alberto Moravia and Pier Paolo Pasolini.
Then in 1972, he returned to the themes of his early years with a TV miniseries produced by RAI: Diario di un maestro, a documentary about a difficult teaching experience in a Roman town. His deep connection with Calabria, where his mother was born, was explored in the documentary Calabria, in 1993, while his last film, Lettere dal Sahara, followed the life of an African migrant in Italy.
Note: I watched Banditi ad Orgosolo recently and it’s an excellent film, a perfect partner piece to Francesco Rosi’s Salvatore Giuliano. De Seta wasn’t a very prolific filmmaker, though, which probably explains why he never made as much of an impact as similar neo-neo-realists such as Rosi or Pontecorvo. But I really recommend checking it out if you can track down a copy.