Fulvio Lucisano, historic film producer and pillar of the Italian audiovisual industry, has passed away at the age of 98. His daughter Paola broke the news through a message on social networks, sharing the tribute of the journalist Sergio Fabi who remembered him as “the King of producers who was still alive, the last of the great producers who truly made the history of great cinema”.
Born in Rome on 1 August 1928, Lucisano has spanned over sixty years of history of the seventh art with a visionary entrepreneurial intuition that has allowed him to cross various eras and range across multiple genres. After his first experiences with the Istituto Luce, he founded Italian International Film (IIF) in 1958, transforming it into one of the most solid and influential independent production and distribution companies on the national scene, whose legacy is today carried on by his daughters Federica and Paola. With an impressive career of over 600 films produced and distributed, Lucisano has been able to range across every genre, collecting 5 David di Donatello including the award for The Great Watermelon and the Special David for Lifetime Achievement in 2009, 4 Silver Ribbons, the nomination as Cavaliere del Lavoro and two Oscar nominations.
His name remains linked to collaborations with the greatest masters of Italian cinema, from Lina Wertmuller to Luigi Comencini, from Alberto Sordi and Luciano Salce to the cult works of Mario Bava. It was Lucisano himself who was the first to believe in the genius of Massimo Troisi, producing his dazzling debut in 1981 with «Ricomincio da tre». Over the years his production company has signed milestones of dramatic and auteur cinema such as «A boy from Calabria» (1987), The great watermelon (1993) and «Ninfa plebea» (1996), up to intercepting the taste of modern pop comedy with directors such as Fausto Brizzi (Night before the exams) and Massimiliano Bruno (Nobody can judge me, Nothing remains but crime).