VITTORIO TAVIANI

(20 September 1929 - 15 April 2018)

Vittorio Taviani, the Italian film director and screenwriter, who has died aged 88, worked with his younger brother Paolo, making over twenty films from 1954 onwards. Many of their subjects were historical or docudramas such as Outlaws of Love and Allonsanfan. They had an international hit with Padre Padrone (1977), a true story about a Sicilian man who educated himself out of his poor upbringing. Many of their films won awards, including Padre Padrone, La notte di San Lorenzo (The Night of the Shooting Stars, 1982), Caesar Must Die and Rainbow: A Private Affair. Their other films included Kaos, Good Morning Babylon (set in Hollywood), Night Sun and Fiorile. One of their last films together, Wondrous Boccaccio (2015), dealt with young people trying to save themselves from the plague in the 14th century.

MICHAEL DARVELL