Uberto Pasolini

{{Short description|Italian film producer and director}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Uberto Pasolini

| image = Uberto Pasolini Dall'Onda.JPG

| image_size =

| alt =

| caption = Pasolini at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, July 2014

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1957|05|01|df=y}}

| birth_place = Rome, Italy

| nationality = Italian

| known_for = The Full Monty (1997)
Machan (2008)
Still Life (2013)

| occupation = Film producer, director, former investment banker

| years_active=

| spouse = {{marriage|Rachel Portman|1995|2006|reason=divorced}}

| children = 3

| relatives = Luchino Visconti (uncle)

}}

Uberto Pasolini Dall'Onda (born 1 May 1957 in Rome, Italy) is an Italian film producer, director, and former investment banker known for producing the 1997 film The Full Monty and directing and producing the 2008 film Machan and the 2013 film Still Life.

Career

Pasolini, an Italian count and a nephew of Luchino Visconti, studied at Atlantic College in Wales and at the London School of Economics,{{Cite web |title=Aesthetica Magazine - Solitude Abandoned |url=https://aestheticamagazine.com/solitude-abandoned/ |access-date=2022-11-03 |website=Aesthetica Magazine |language=en-GB}}{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Uberto Pasolini - film producer and director |url=https://www.italyonthisday.com/2019/05/uberto-pasolini-film-producer-and.html |access-date=2022-11-03}} and then worked as an investment banker in England for 12 years.

He wished to work on the film The Killing Fields, was interviewed by David Puttnam, and was rejected. When Puttnam went to Bangkok to shoot the film, Pasolini bought his own ticket and presented himself on set seeking work. Puttnam was impressed by this persistence and brought him on board the project. Pasolini subsequently acted as location scout for The Killing Fields (1984), The Frog Prince, and The Mission (1986). He was an assistant director with producer's duties on The Frog Prince (for which he also assisted in translations while shooting in Paris), and The Mission.

Pasolini moved to Los Angeles when Puttnam was appointed as head of Columbia Pictures, and was vice president of production, and in 1988 oversaw production of both David Mamet's Things Change and Emir Kusturica's Time of the Gypsies. Later in 1988, Pasolini returned to London and rejoined Enigma Films to serve as associate producer on Meeting Venus (1991), and as producer on A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia for an episode of the TV series Great Performances. In 1994 Pasolini left Enigma and founded Redwave Films as a production company to produce the film Palookaville for which he chose David Epstein to write the screenplay and Alan Taylor to direct,

In 1997, Pasolini received international recognition as producer of the film The Full Monty. He conceived the idea for the film and chose Simon Beaufoy to write the screenplay and Peter Cattaneo to direct. In 2000, Pasolini asked Aileen Ritchie to direct the William Ivory film The Closer You Get, and in 2001 produced The Emperor's New Clothes.

Pasolini's next film was inspired by a real event. In 2004, in order to get visas granting them access to an international handball tournament being held in Bavaria, 23 Sri Lankan men fooled the German embassy in Colombo into believing they were the Sri Lanka National Handball team. The men then travelled to Germany on the pretext of taking part in the sports tournament, but were in fact seeking to emigrate. They postponed their escape and actually took part in several handball matches held by the Asian-German Sports Exchange Program before vanishing. When Pasolini heard of the incident, he decided to make it into a film to promote discussion on the issue of illegal immigration, and in 2008 he released the critically acclaimed Machan, marking his directorial debut.

Following Machan was Pasolini's Redwave Films production, Bel Ami, starring Robert Pattinson, Uma Thurman, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Christina Ricci, which was based upon the novel of the same name by Guy de Maupassant. The film had its world premiere out of competition at the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival in February 2012.

The 2013 film Still Life, starring Eddie Marsan and Joanne Froggatt, is his second film as director.

In 1995, Pasolini married the composer Rachel Portman with whom he has worked on several of his film projects. The two have three children. They divorced in 2006.

Filmography

As producer

As writer/director

  • The Frog Prince (1986) (third assistant director)
  • The Mission (1986) (third assistant director)
  • Machan (2008)
  • Still Life (2013)
  • Nowhere Special (2020){{cite web |title=Nowhere Special |website=Cineuropa – the best of european cinema |date=2019-09-04 |url=https://cineuropa.org/en/film/390366/ |access-date=2020-07-28}}{{cite web |title=Nowhere Special selected for Venice Film Festival |website=Northern Ireland Screen |date=2020-07-28 |url=https://www.northernirelandscreen.co.uk/news/nowhere-special-selected-venice-film-festival/ |access-date=2020-07-28}}
  • The Return (2024)

Recognition

=Awards and nominations=

References

{{cite news | url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/sinhala/news/story/2008/08/080831_machan_venice.shtml | title=Machan in Venice Festival | access-date=25 March 2011 | author=Vincent Dowd | date=31 August 2008 |publisher=BBC News}}

{{cite news | url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE4D91E30F935A35756C0A964958260 | title=6 May 1992 | access-date=23 March 2011 | author=John J. O'Connor | date=6 May 1992 |work=The New York Times}}

{{cite news | url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=PI&s_site=philly&p_multi=PI&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB32E0754312B65&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM| title=A Comical Look at Tough Guys' Tough Times | access-date=23 March 2011 | date=28 November 1996 |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer}}

{{cite news | url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=ST&s_site=dfw&p_multi=ST&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAF913A2AACE534&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM | title=Bare facts about The Full Monty| access-date=23 March 2011 | date=23 September 1997 |work=Fort Worth Star-Telegram}}

{{cite news | url=http://lankareporter.com/lr/2010/02/16/%E2%80%98machan%E2%80%99-grabs-major-honours-at-sarasaviya-film-awards/ | title=Interview: Making Machan | access-date=26 March 2011 | author=Mahesh Abeyewardene | date=16 February 2010 | work=Sri Lanka Reporter | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110819193731/http://lankareporter.com/lr/2010/02/16/%E2%80%98machan%E2%80%99-grabs-major-honours-at-sarasaviya-film-awards/ | archive-date=19 August 2011 | df=dmy-all }}

{{cite news | url=http://lankareporter.com/lr/2010/02/16/%E2%80%98machan%E2%80%99-grabs-major-honours-at-sarasaviya-film-awards/ | title=Machan grabs major honours at Sarasaviya Film Awards | access-date=22 March 2011 | date=16 February 2010 | work=Sri Lanka Reporter | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110819193731/http://lankareporter.com/lr/2010/02/16/%E2%80%98machan%E2%80%99-grabs-major-honours-at-sarasaviya-film-awards/ | archive-date=19 August 2011 | df=dmy-all }}

{{cite news | url=http://www.cnn.com/CNNI/Programs/screening.room/blog/labels/venice%20film%20festival.html | title=Machan wins Europa Cinemas prize at Venice | access-date=22 March 2011 | author=Mairi Mackay | date=5 September 2008 |publisher=CNN}}

{{cite book | title=Fast fade: David Puttnam, Columbia Pictures, and the battle for Hollywood | author=Andrew Yule | year=1989 | publisher=Delacorte Press|isbn=0-440-50177-6 | url=https://archive.org/details/fastfadedavidput00yulerich| url-access=registration | quote=Uberto Pasolini. }}

{{cite book | title=Dream Repairman | author=Jim Clark | date=10 July 2012 | publisher=eBookIt | isbn=978-0-9845129-4-2}}

{{cite book | title=Out of Focus: Power, Pride and Prejudice – David Puttnam in Hollywood | author=Charles Kipps | year=1990 | publisher=Century | isbn=0-7126-3911-X | url-access=registration | url=https://archive.org/details/outoffocuspowerp0000kipp }}

{{cite web | url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/513493%7C0/Uberto-Pasolini/ | title=Uberto Pasolini bio | access-date=24 March 2011 | work=Turner Classic Movies}}

{{cite news|url=https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-61060803|title=Half Monty: It would have been such a flop...|last=Polly|first=Graham|date=25 October 1997 |work=Daily Mirror|access-date=24 March 2011}}

{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/starsandstories/3559554/Venice-Film-Festival-interview-Uberto-Pasolini.html#|title=Venice Film Festival interview: Uberto Pasolini|first=David|last=Gritten|date=1 September 2008|work=The Daily Telegraph|location=London|access-date=24 March 2011}}

{{cite web|url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/38/Rachel-Portman.html|title=Rachel Portman Biography (1960–)|publisher=filmreference.com|access-date=24 March 2011}}

{{cite web|url=http://www.filmmusic.dk/index.php?side=rachelportman&l=uk |title=Rachel Portman | publisher=filmmusic.com|access-date=24 March 2011}}

{{cite news | url=http://sundaytimes.lk/080803/TV/sundaytvtimes_07.html | title=Machan marks debut in Venice | access-date=25 March 2011 | author=Susitha R. Fernando | date=3 August 2008 |work=The Sunday Times}}

{{cite news | url=http://sundaytimes.lk/081005/Plus/sundaytimesplus_11.html | title=Making of Machan: From real life to reel life | access-date=25 March 2011 | author=Smriti Daniel | date=5 October 2008 |work=The Sunday Times}}

{{cite book | title=Contemporary British and Irish film directors: a wallflower critical guide |author1=Yoram Allon |author2=Del Cullen |author3=Hannah Patterson | year=2001 | publisher=Wallflower Press|isbn=1-903364-21-3}}

{{cite web | url=http://www.filmjournal.com/filmjournal/esearch/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000692861 | title=An Emperor's Odyssey | access-date=25 March 2011 | author=Maria Garcia | date=1 July 2002 | work=Film Journal International |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150102165359/http://www.filmjournal.com/filmjournal/esearch/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000692861 |archive-date=January 2, 2015 |url-status=dead}}

{{cite news|url=https://collider.com/casting-complete-on-bel-ami-robert-pattinson-uma-thurman-kristin-scott-thomas-and-christina-ricci-to-star/15519/|title=Casting Complete on BEL AMI – Robert Pattinson, Uma Thurman, Kristin Scott Thomas, Christina Ricci to Star|last=Steve Weintraub |date=2 February 2010|publisher=Collider|access-date=26 March 2011}}

{{cite news|url=https://www.variety.com/article/VR1118003932?refCatId=3628|title=Rob Pattinson to star in Bel Ami|last=Carole Horst|date=19 May 2009|work=Variety|access-date=26 March 2011}}

{{cite web | url=http://www.bafta.org/awards/film/nominations/?year=1997 | title=Film Nominations/Wins 1997 | access-date=26 March 2011 | work=BAFTA}}

{{cite web | url=http://www.siff.net/festival/film/detail.aspx?id=28829&FID=123 | title=Machan| access-date=26 March 2011 | publisher=Seattle International Film Festival}}