Italian Producer Fulvio Lucisano, Pioneer of B-Movies and Art Cinema, Dies at 98

Italian film producer Fulvio Lucisano died at the age of 98. His daughter Paola confirmed the loss in a statement sent to the Italian news agency ANSA, writing, “Rest in peace, Dad.”

Variety Magazine

Lucisano began his career in 1949, assisting an American company on a Vatican documentary for the Holy Year Jubilee. Over the next seven decades he mounted more than 150 projects, ranging from low-budget sci-fi and horror titles such as Mario Bava’s “Planet of the Vampires” (1965) to high-brow auteur works by Liliana Cavani, Marco Ferreri and Lina Wertmüller. (1972), Franco Zeffirelli’s “The Young Toscanini,” and the Oscar-nominated foreign-language debut “Il grande cocomero” (1993). His collaborations spanned both Italian and American studios, notably distributing James H. Nicholson and Samuel Z. Arkoff’s Pictures in Italy and co-producing with American Intl. Pictures. As a distributor, his company Italian Intl. Film (IIF) released titles such as “Thelma and Louise,” “Maria’s Lovers,” and “Four Weddings and a Funeral.”**

Variety Magazine

Lucisano served as president of Italy’s motion-picture association ANICA from 1998 to 2001. He received five David di Donatello awards—including a lifetime-achievement honor in 2009—and four Nastri d’Argento (Silver Ribbon) awards. His legacy continues through the publicly traded Lucisano Media Group, now run by his daughters Federica and Paola.

Variety Magazine

> “He told me: ‘Any kind of movie you make, look at what happens in the first reel, and make sure that, if it’s a comedy, there’s a laugh early on; if it’s a drama or an action movie, then something surprising has to happen in the first 10 minutes,’” — Fulvio Lucisano, Italian producer

Variety Magazine