Mario Masini

Mario Masini was an Italian cinematographer and experimental director. He won the Palme d'Or at Cannes [Film Festival] with the film Padre Padrone in 1976.

Life and career

Born in Savona, Masini grew up in Tuscany and in 1961 he graduated from the Centro Sperimentale [di Cinematografia] in Rome. He started his film career as assistant operator of Vittorio Storaro in Daniele D'Anza's Pugni, pupe e marinai. He is best known for his association with Carmelo Bene, with whom he collaborated as a cinematographer in all his films, including the Venice Film Festival Special [Jury Prize (Venice Film Festival)|Special Jury Prize] winner Our [Lady of the Turks]; other notable collaborations include Paolo and Vittorio Taviani, Bruno Bozzetto, Giuseppe Ferrara and Vittorio [De Sisti]. In the 1980s Masini retired from the industry to work as a teacher in some Steiner schools, and later moved to Stuttgart. He reprised his cinema activities in the early 1990s, working mainly in independent and arthouse international productions.
Masini was also a director of experimental and often surrealist films. He died on 13 March 2023, at the age of 84.