Maurizio Zaccaro

Born 1952, Milan. After obtaining a diploma from the Cinema School in Milan, he made 16 short films before making the film IN CODA ALLA CODA for the cinema and television laboratory Ipotesi Cinema, based on an idea by Paolo Vermarana and Ermanno Olmi. He went on to make DOVE COMINICA LA NOTTE (1990), KALKSTEIN - LA VALLE DI PIETRA (1992), L’ARTICOLO 2 (1993), IL CARNIERE (1996) and UN UOMO PERBENE (1999), for which he was awarded the Special Event Prize at the 56th International Venice Film Festival. For television he directed the TV movie TESTA MATTA (1995), the mini-series LA MISSIONE (1997), the television series CRISTAL DI ROCCA (1998), UN DONO SEMPLICE (2000), CUORE (2001), based on the book by Edmondo De Amicis and THE BOYS OF VIA PÁL, based on the book by Ferenc Molnár. Zaccaro has won numerous prizes for his films and his television productions. In 1991, for ARTICOLO 2, he was awarded the Solinas prize for the best original screenplay.

Director’s statement

“Instead of re-reading Molnar’s novel I tried to recall everything that, thirty seven years after I read it for the first time, has remained in my memory. Strangely, instead of the epic gestures of the protagonists, the first thing that sprang to my mind was the yearning atmosphere of the settings. Then I thought of the protagonists. Who did I like most? Who made me laugh…or cry? Who did I hate? And who did I love? I had chosen my hero, the character that most excited my boyish fantasy; it was Ferenc Ats! Boka was clever, certainly, rather too clever, Nemecsek was too young, Csonakos too impulsive, Gereb too much a turncoat. Ats was the pure one, a shining, classical hero. He had values, unshakeable trust, and the dignity of one who has lost”.