Liliana Cavani

Best known for "The Night Porter" (1974) which, like many of her films, boldly and effectively deals with socio-political and sexual themes, Liliana Cavani has been a director and frequent writer of features, TV programs, documentaries and operas. She made her first films as part of her graduation requirements from films school. "In Contro Notturno" (1961) depicted the friendship between an Italian and a man from Senegal while "L'Evento" (1962) focused on a joy killing by tourists in Southern Italy. Soon thereafter, Cavani was hired to work at RAI, the Italian TV network, as a director for a newly-formed second Italian channel in 1961 and for several years thereafter made programs that were ground-breaking for their time. "Storia del III Reich" (1962) was a four-hour analysis of Nazism while "La Donna della Resistenza" (1963) revealed little-known information about Italian women who had worked in the Resistance movement during World War II. In 1965, Cavani traveled to France to do a documentary on the burning issue of whether or not Marshal Petain should be rehabilitated. (He had been the collaborating head of the Vichy government during World War II). Interviewing resistance members as well as right wingers, the director came away with the controversial point-of-view that to parole Petain was to reopen the doors to fascism.