Peter Del Monte died, the director was 77 years old

Director Peter Del Monte died this morning in Rome, he was 77 years old. This was announced by his partner Marina and his daughter Emilia. The director and screenwriter, who had been ill for some time, was hospitalized in a Roman clinic. American, naturalized Italian, Del Monte was born in San Francisco on July 29, 1943. He graduated in Literature in Rome with a thesis on cinematographic aesthetics. He then attended the Experimental Center of Cinematography under the direction of Roberto Rossellini. In 1975 his debut behind the camera with Irene Irene, played by Alain Cuny and Olimpia Carlisi: thanks to the first of his many female portraits, Del Monte was nominated for the Nastro d’Argento as best new director. a special mention by the jury at the Venice Film Festival with L’altra donna. A year later he returned to the lagoon with Piso pisello, which earned him the Unicef ​​Prize. In 1982 he was in competition at the Cannes Film Festival with Invitation to Travel. In 1985 he won a Nastro d’Argento for best subject for Piccoli Fuochi, a film with Valeria Golino which was presented in many international festivals. In 1987 he made Giulia and Giulia, with an all-star cast (Kathleen Turner, Gabriel Byrne, Sting), famous for being the first fiction film in the world shot with the Sony HDVS video camera, a high definition analog system, using the contribution by Giuseppe Rotunno as cinematographer. In 1989 it was the turn of Étoile with Jennifer Connelly and Charles Durning, a year later of Traces of love life with Walter Chiari, Laura Morante and Massimo Dapporto. In 1996 he directed what is perhaps his best film, Compagna di viaggio, with Asia Argento and Michel Piccoli: for this original encounter between a forgetful elderly man and a fragile girl, Del Monte was nominated for two tapes as best director and best screenwriter (with Gloria Malatesta and Claudia Sbarigia) and won the Grolla d’Oro for Best Direction and the Golden Globe for Best Film of the Year. In 1998 he received the Sergio Leone Award at the Annecy Film Festival for The Ballad of the Window Cleaners. He returned to direct the former partner and muse Golino in Controvento (2001), alongside Margherita Buy. His latest films are In your hands (2007) and Nobody combs me well like the wind (2014).