September 22nd, 2015 – The actor, director, and screenwriter Vittorio De Sica is a character that left a mark in the history of cinema; an artist who was able to easily switch from comedy to drama; one of the most influential filmmakers of Italian and international cinema… De Sica was also a stage actor and a documentary filmmaker. He is considered one of the founding fathers of neo-realism and, at the same time, one of the best directors and interpreters of Italian comedy. And now, San Francisco pays tribute to the Italian artist with a film festival scheduled for Saturday, September 26th. The Castro Theatre, a popular building in San Francisco used as a movie theater, located at 429 Castro Street in the Castro district, hosts the event promoted by the Cinema Italia SF, Cinecittà Luce Institute and the Italian Cultural Institute of San Francisco (in collaboration with the Leonardo da Vinci Society, the Consulate General of Italy in San Francisco, and the Ministry of Culture), the event will feature four masterpieces starring or directed by the master of Italian neo-realist cinema: “La Ciociara”, “L’oro di Napoli”, “Matrimonio all’italiana”, “Il giardino dei Finzi Contini”. It’s been more than forty years since De Sica’s death (who passed away in France on Nov. 13, 1974), but today Italians and foreigners alike continue to dream thanks to him. His closest associates were Cesare Zavattini, Mario Camerini, and Luchino Visconti. He worked with Marcello Mastroianni, Vittorio Gassman, Sophia Loren and Gina Lollobrigida. De Sica won four Oscars, the Palme d’Or at Cannes and the Golden Bear in Berlin.
