Pasolini Centenary Celebrated with Film Screenings and Lectures in São Paulo

A program honoring the centenary of Italian filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini runs until August 17, organized by Sesc São Paulo and the Instituto Italiano di Cultura. Nineteen restored films will be screened at CineSesc, including 2K, 4K, and a special 35mm presentation. An online lecture series with professors and critics will be hosted by the Centro de Pesquisa e Formação do Sesc, alongside two masterclasses with Italian researchers. On August 17, five Pasolini-directed titles will be made available for free for 30 days on the Sesc Digital platform. Michele Gialdroni, director of the Istituto Italiano di Cultura de São Paulo, described the anniversary as an opportunity to celebrate an 'inevitable' author whose multifaceted identity encompassed contradictions. Born in Bologna on March 5, 1922, Pasolini was a gay, Catholic communist who graduated in Literary Studies from the University of Bologna. He worked as a poet, editor, essayist, screenwriter, journalist, and cultural critic before becoming an internationally recognized filmmaker around age forty. His work consistently critiqued consumer society and the bourgeoisie. The film program includes his first feature, 'Accattone' (1961), 'Mamma Roma' (1962), 'The Gospel According to St. Matthew' (1964), the 'Trilogy of Life' ('The Decameron' (1971), 'The Canterbury Tales' (1972), 'Arabian Nights' (1974)), and his final film, 'Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom' (1975).