Directed by Roberto Rossellini

A founder of Italian neorealism, Roberto Rossellini brought to filmmaking a documentary-like authenticity and philosophical stringency that changed the course of film history. Rossellini broke out with ROME OPEN CITY, a shattering and vivid chronicle of the Nazi occupation of Italy’s capital, followed by PAISAN and GERMANY YEAR ZERO, which round out his celebrated War Trilogy. His adulterous affair with Ingrid Bergman led to the biggest controversy of his career (they were both condemned by the United States Senate) but also to another extraordinary trilogy—STROMBOLI, EUROPE ’51, and JOURNEY TO ITALY, all starring Bergman. From then on, Rossellini experimented with different forms, including an ascetic religious film (THE FLOWERS OF ST. FRANCIS), a documentary about India (INDIA: MATRI BHUMI), and a series of historical television dramas made with a rational, almost scientific approach. Throughout his evolutions, he yearned to show life’s minutiae unadorned, bare and pure. Echoes of Rossellini’s approach to filmmaking are still felt in movements around the world, from China to Iran to South America to the United States. It’s fair to say modern cinema wouldn’t exist as we know it without him.