By Colleen Barry
MILAN (AP) --Italian director and screenwriter Francesco Rosi, whose films took on corruption in postwar Italy, winning top honors at the Venice and Cannes film festivals, has died. He was 92.
Rosi's most famous works include "Hands over the City," a film about political corruption that won the won the Golden Lion at Venice in 1963, and "The Mattei Affair," which dealt with the mysterious death of an oil tycoon. It won the Golden Palm at Cannes in 1972.
Italian filmmakers, from Oscar-winner Paolo Sorrentino to long-time friend and collaborator Franco Zeffirelli, mourned Rosi's death on Saturday.
Zeffirelli said in a statement that Rosi was for him "a friend, a lifetime companion and brother," and that the loss was "like experiencing a mutilation." Zeffirelli, 92, and Rosi started out together as assistants to Luchino Visconti, becoming collaborators and life-long friends.
Born in Naples, Rosi was an innovator of socially committed filmmaking that took on both controversy and corruption in Italian society.
In addition to the awards in Venice and Cannes, he won a Silver Bear in Berlin in 1961 with "Salvatore Giuliano," a film about a Sicilian bandit.
He was also honored in 2012 with a Golden Lion for lifetime achievement for having left "an indelible mark on the history of Italian filmmaking."
"There are directors, and they are few and far between, who are capable of constructing worlds, and they do it by the invention of methods and styles. Rosi was one of the very few," Sorrentino was quoted as saying by Italian news agency ANSA.
Roberto Saviano, whose book "Gomorrah" about Italian organized crime became an award-winning film, said on Twitter that "no one knew how to portray power like Francesco Rosi."
The cause of Rosi's death wasn't released, but Corriere della Sera reported he had been suffering from bronchitis.
He is survived by daughter, Carolina, an actress. His wife of nearly 50 years, Giancarla Mandelli, died in 2010 at age 83, when her clothing caught fire from a cigarette.
Rosi's body will lie in state for mourners to pay tribute at Rome's Casa del Cinema on Monday.
SMPTE elects board officers, regional governors
SMPTE®,the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has revealed the board officers and regional governors who will serve terms beginning in January 2025.
Three new officers--Richard Welsh as SMPTE president, Eric Gsell as SMPTE executive VP, and Polly Hickling as SMPTE Education VP--have been elected for a two-year term from Jan. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2026. One SMPTE officer, Lisa Hobbs, will be continuing her service as SMPTE secretary and treasurer for another two-year term. Additionally, Raymond Yeung will be stepping into the role of standards VP on Jan. 1, 2025.
“SMPTE’s membership has spoken,” said SMPTE interim executive director Sally-Ann D’Amato. “These officers have been tasked with an important responsibility, one each of them is prepared to tackle head-on. These next two years are looking bright for SMPTE!”
In addition to the officers, 10 regional governors were elected by the Society to serve two-year 2025-2026 terms.
These include the following regional governors, re-elected to continue their service:
Asia-Pacific Region Governor
Tony Ngai, Society of Motion Imaging Ltd.
EMEA - Central & South America Region Governor
Fernando Bittencourt, FB Consultant
United Kingdom Region Governor
Chris Johns, Sky UK.
USA - Central Region Governor
William T. Hayes, Consultant
USA - Eastern Region Governor
Dover Jeanne Mundt, Riedel Communications
USA - Western Region Governor
Jeffrey F. Way, Open Drives
Also elected were four newcomers to the SMPTE Board:
Canada Region Governor
Jonathan Jobin, Grass Valley
USA - Hollywood Region Governor
Allan Schollnick, Voxx... Read More